Towards the Sun
by ImmemorialMemory
Summary: The Hyuuga Clan is also known as the All-Seeing Clan. But they didn't need the help of the Byakugan to know that there was something special about their heiress. (Harry is Hyuuga Hinata/Second in my Reincarnation Series)
1. Prologue

**A/N: So yes, once again an HP in a Narutoverse story, a very much used plot line but one I greatly enjoy. I also like Hinata a lot but I felt that her character wasn't very fleshed out and she didn't get enough development. So yep, a Hinata-is-Harry story, and if you have any ideas you want me to add in order to make it more believable, I'm all ears. Now on to the story!**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. Thank you.

* * *

 **...**

"You tripped me."

 **I did not, Master."**

"YOU TRIPPED ME! On the Veil of Death! And don't you lie to me!"

 **I don't know what you're talking about, Master."**

"You did! Now what am I going to do?!"

 **I may have a suggestion, Master."**

"… this was your plan all along, isn't it?"

 **Well…"**

"I hate you."

* * *

 **...**

Harry Potter was bored and tired.

A few years after the Battle of Hogwarts, he realized that he wasn't aging. Naturally, he panicked and employed a powerful glamour to make it seem like he was growing as old as Hermione and Ron. When the realization has passed ( _he wasn't aging, he'll never die, he'll watch everyone he love die_ ), he decided to make the most of it by travelling the world and see what it had to offer.

So he waited until Teddy drew his last breath ( _he buried his godson, he was alone, what was he going to do_ ) and packed his things, hopping from one country to another. The first few years of travelling were fun and interesting, and the thrill of discovery distracted him from the hollow ache gnawing at his chest.

He went to magical countries, visiting places that muggles thought were lost but were actually hidden by wizards. He trekked the hidden city of Atlantis, read through the great library of Alexandria, admired the hanging gardens of Babylon, and joined tribes of magical Indian Americans during their rituals.

It was during this time that a bump in the road occurred. A certain cannibalistic tribe attempted to offer Harry as a virgin sacrifice ( _haha virgin that was funny_ ) to one of their pagan gods.

They accidentally summoned Death instead.

Harry swore up a shitstorm while tribal people panicked around him.

Death had been quite cross with Harry. He had been trying to contact his Master since he laid claim to the Deathly Hallows, but the young one had rejected his gifts quite thoroughly, which left the entity in a snit. Death could not directly approach him due to his formal rejection of the Hallows, but after some of Harry's blood splattered all over the tribe's summoning rune, Death took the offered blood as permission and was now free to bind itself to his Master.

After slaughtering most of the bloodthirsty tribe, the Embodiment of All Things Ending had demanded that Harry take up the responsibility as Master of Death and tried to shove the Deathly Hallows in his hands with a manic sort of glee.

Harry stared, laughed, and blurted out a 'Fuck no'. Then disapparated a few miles south.

He was an idiot to think that he could actually get rid of Death that way.

So he acquired Death as a companion ( _stalker_ ), and the entity would often make snarky commentary at the back of Harry's mind whenever he thought that his Master was getting too boring.

Death was _clingy,_ horrifyingly so, and Harry was forever scarred with the image of Death acting like a whiny, jilted lover.

It went on for almost a hundred years, Harry hopping to another magical country, acquiring a new identity and getting a new job to entertain himself with Death by his side. He had been a peddler in India, a runic professor in America, an assistant zoologist in Brazil, and there was this one bizarre decade when the Empress of China wanted him as a part of her harem.

In the end he found himself back in his motherland, as an Unspeakable of all things. Harry swore he would never set foot in the Department of Mysteries again but here he was, staring at a tentacle brain and watching it wiggle.

Harry knew Death was impatiently waiting for the day that he would become the 'proper' Master of Death, whatever that meant. While he was quite fine with the idea of dying ( _seeing his mom and dad and Sirius and Remus again_ ), there was a niggling thought at the back of his mind that his demise wouldn't be in the classical sense that he would just drop dead and go in peace.

Next great adventure, his arse.

Damn you, Dumbledore.

And so Harry wasn't that surprised when one day, he found himself being shoved into the Veil of Death unceremoniously. His coworkers wouldn't do that to him, he knew. The other Unspeakables were weirdoes, but they weren't jerks.

Which of course left the deity floating in front of him as the culprit. Who was all but vibrating with excitement now that Harry was in his domain.

 **Ready to go on to your next great adventure, Master?"**

Harry groaned.

Really. Fuck you, Dumbledore.

* * *

 **...**

So.

Reincarnation was apparently a thing.

 ** _Of course it's a thing, Master. Imagine if every soul that died since the beginning of time was in the afterlife. It would be terribly overcrowded. Much easier to just recycle, wipe the slate clean and live all over again.'_**

And Death was still with him. Bugger.

The entity sounded smug. ** _'Not going to get rid of me that easily, Master._** '

Death also had the consistency of a leech. A mind-reading leech. _'Why am I doing this again?'_

 ** _Why not?'_** Death said. **_'You've experienced everything out there is to offer in your world. There are millions of universes out there, millions of possibilities. Aren't you the little least curious to what lies ahead?'_**

Alright, that sounded intriguing. And indeed, Harry had seen much of his world already. What difference do others have to offer?

Death smiled at the tinge of curiosity his Master was emitting.

Finally.

Death did not care much for anything. He was fair and insentient. But when a little soul in one of the countless universes began to pluck out his Hallows without being aware of what he was doing, he grew fascinated and followed his supposed 'Master' in his adventures. He then grew fond of the young man who easily rejected power over Death but didn't protest when said entity rode in the back of his mind as he traveled.

Harry Potter saw Death as a friend. An annoying friend maybe, but still a friend. And the god knew that his trust would never be misplaced in his Master.

In the years that passed, Death saw how his Master was close to breaking. Not enough for Harry himself to notice, but Death could see how the immortal's world began to gray around the edges. For him to settle as an Unspeakable was the final hint that he was slowly dying inside.

Harry Potter _loathed_ the Department of Mysteries due to the loss of his godfather in that place. For him to only give an apathetic glance at the Veil of Death without even a fleeting though of Sirius Black…

Death did not want Harry Potter's spirit snuffed out before it truly ignited.

His Master had been _glorious_ in battle. And so Death would send him to a world where he would thrive, a world of legendary beasts and men.

A world of shinobi.

* * *

 **...**

Hyuuga Hinata was born on a snowy day in December. Her loud, indignant cries were well met by her new parents, her new family, and her new responsibilities as the heiress of a powerful clan.

Hyuuga Hinata had great expectations weighing her down. In another world, those expectations would cripple her and turn her into a shy, stuttering girl for most of her childhood.

But in this world, little Hinata was also Harry Potter.

And Harry was not amused.

Not at all.

* * *

 **...**

 **A/N:** This is the second of my Reincarnation Series. I know I said that I would've posted Temari's first but I had planned it to be a one-shot like 'Jasmine Flowers' and I had a little difficulty ending it. With that being said, I went ahead and posted this story because I have established most of the plot I want to write.

Now the Hyuuga clan was not as prominent in the manga and anime as the Uchiha clan was, which is why I'm creating this story more out of the few scant facts and videos I find and of course, supporting fanfiction. I am going in half-blind and I would appreciate it if people would point out any mistakes I make.

This will of course be AU and OOC, since Harry had experienced far more than his book counterpart did and Hinata is not going to be a shy wallflower in this one. I will do my best to integrate both fandoms into this one but bear with me. I accept criticism but if your only intention is to be rude and fan flames, then don't read. Please. Spare yourself the effort.

With that being said I thank you for any comments and suggestions that you may give and will do my best to update. Thank you. :)

Now can anyone guess the meaning of the title? Yes? First one gets a cyber cookie.

 **Read and review.**

Memory out!


	2. Rebirth and New Life

**A/N: Congr** **atul** **ations to Gesso for getting the exact me** **aning of the title! And thumbs up to Hik** **ari Nov** **a, KRP,** **and Aloever for guessing it or** **at le** **ast trying to guess it, h** ** **ah**** ** ** **a****. Tow** **ards the sun is** **a direct tr** **ansl** **ation of the word 'Hyuug** **a'** **and c** **an be** **also** **a gener** **al tr** **ansl** **ation for the n** **ame 'Hin** **at** **a'.**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. Thank you.

 **CHAPTER TWO-Rebirth and New Life**

* * *

 **…**

Hyuuga Hiashi just heard his newborn's piercing cry when the midwife shouted in alarm. He looked up to see what was wrong only for a pulse of chakra to course through them all, wild and electrifying.

They were shocked to realize that the source of power was the tiny wailing child in the midwife's arms and they scrambled to get her stabilized.

"Someone get the medical seal, quickly—"

"Her body is surging with chakra again, she can't handle it—"

After a bated breath, his daughter's chakra subsided and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The medics stared at each other with flabbergasted expressions.

Hiashi stepped inside the room, itching to take his child as he demanded, "How is she? My daughter?"

"I—I am giving her a diagnostic scan, Hiashi-sama." One of the younger medics said, hovering a hand glowing in green chakra over the newborn Hyuuga. "Perfectly healthy. Eight pounds, six ounces. She took to the medical seal. Byakugan disabled."

"And my wife?"

"Stable. She will awaken in a few minutes."

"Good," Hiashi said shortly before drawing a deep breath. He needed to announce his daughter's delivery to the elders. Again, he fought the urge to take his child and comfort his sleeping wife. "Bathe my child and present her to Hiyori once she regains consciousness."

"Of course, Hiashi-sama." It was custom for the mother to see and hold the child before the father.

The clan head paused from leaving and looked at them in the eye. "This incident does not leave the room."

They bowed and looked at each other nervously. "Hai, Hiashi-sama."

A newborn emitting powerful chakra upon birth was not unheard of, but it was rare. It indicated large reserves and fully-functioning chakra coils that will only grow bigger in time.

To think that such a little infant could have this much power…

The Hyuuga Clan were in for some interesting times.

* * *

 **…**

Being recently birthed was a gross feeling, Harry decided.

He felt wet, hypersensitive, there was water in his lungs, and he was pretty sure that he heard someone call out that Harry was a girl.

A girl.

 _'_ _Really, Death? You couldn't even get that right?'_

 ** _"_** ** _I thought gender wasn't something that you cared about, seeing as you spent six years as a cross-dressing female bellydancer for an Egyptian vizier."_**

 _'_ _It would've still be nice to know that I was about to lose my balls.'_

Harry drifted off afterwards, feeling much better when he (she?) was wrapped in soft cloth. A giant hand was pressed on his stomach and a warm glow coursed through his body.

Harry gave a pleased sound, staring. He had all of his senses active, which was quite odd. He knew that babies were born with blurred eyes, but he could see quite fine. There were several giant people looking at him (her?) with milky pupil-less eyes.

 _'_ _Uh, Death?'_

 ** _'_** ** _The clarity of your new eyes have something to do with the family you were born in. Incidentally, you are about to learn your name.'_**

 _'_ _What?'_

"—uuga Hinata. Your firstborn, Hiyori-sama."

The words were said in Japanese and Harry was thankful of the knowledge he had of the language after the years he spent as a kitchen help in Japan.

Hinata, huh?

Harry tugged her lips upwards. It was a pretty Japanese name.

She was shifted slightly before a beautiful, gentle face peered at her with tender eyes.

Oh.

This was her mother.

"Hello, Hinata-chan." Hyuuga Hiyori cooed, giggling when her daughter just stared at her with wide eyes. Her little one was such a cute baby. "I'm your kaa-san, Hinata-chan. Or would you like to call me 'mama' instead?"

Hiyori smiled at her gawking daughter for a few more moments before she turned to her silent husband. She held out their child for him to hold. "Our daughter, Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi hesitated before accepting the bundle with great gentleness, awkwardly trying to adjust to having such a fragile burden leaning on his chest. Once settled, he stared at the smooth, innocent-looking face that peered out of the bundle. "She is awake."

Awake and calm, he wanted to say. Their daughter was staring at Hiashi with clear, steady eyes, none of her distress showing as it did earlier. She poked a tiny arm out and Hiashi automatically held out his finger for her.

"Her grip is strong." He said in surprise. Little Hinata began to coo at him and a slow smile crept on the clan head's face.

Hiyori nodded, staring at her daughter with soft eyes. "I'm glad. When the Kyuubi… I was worried…"

"We all were." Hiashi said softly.

Two months ago, the Kyuubi had wreaked havoc onto Konoha. The bijuu killed many people in its rampage, shinobi and civilians alike. The Yondaime was killed, the village was wreaked, hundreds were injured, and many more lost their homes. And the tragedy didn't end there. Many infants died due to the Kyuubi's malevolent aura and many pregnant women miscarried.

Half of the future generation… lost.

Hiashi had been terrified for his wife and child. Hiyori had been seven months along and her pregnancy had not been smooth. She had been riddled with illness in her youth and the backlash from the Kyuubi's chakra had worsened her body's condition. The medics informed them that continuing the pregnancy had many risks and even if Hiyori managed to give birth, it was possible that the baby would be weak and sickly.

Hiashi admitted that for a fleeting moment he had thought of terminating Hiyori's pregnancy. He didn't want his wife dead, and her weakened state made him dread of a future without her. Better a dead child than a dead wife. Or worse, both.

And even if by some miracle Hiyori managed to give birth and live, their child could be weak. Having a weak child would mean having a weak heir, something that would be unacceptable for the elders.

They were bitter over the fact that the Uchiha heir was a prodigy. They wanted a prodigious Hyuuga heir to counteract it and to show the village how prominent they were, how their blood was strong, even stronger than the Uchiha. They expected the world from Hiashi's child, expected their unborn heir to deliver them the glory that the Uchiha's heir had given.

If Hiashi's child was weak, the clan would be shamed. His wife would be shamed for birthing a weak heir and Hiashi would be absolved of sin, being the unquestionable clan head.

Hiyori would be heartbroken and anguished at his decision, would cry a thousand tears for their child, but if Hiashi ordered her to end her pregnancy, she would obey because Hiashi was her lord and husband.

Yes, no one would have stopped Hiashi from terminating his child.

But he didn't. Because the second the thought echoed in his mind, he dismissed it entirely. He refused to give in. He wanted to have faith in his child despite the overwhelming odds. Hiashi remembered the day he realized Hiyori was pregnant, how he saw that flicker of chakra in her abdomen, remembered the burst of elation that coursed through his chest at the revelation.

Hiashi loved his unborn child. Loved that small, flickering chakra signature that fluttered whenever he touched Hiyori's swollen stomach. And so despite knowing how selfish it was, he prayed for his child to hold on. To be strong for the clan and the responsibilities it held.

And now here she was, his little Hinata. Emitting powerful chakra on the day of her birth. Awake and staring at him calmly as if she was ready for whatever fate had in store for her.

"Hyuuga Hinata," Hiashi said, rocking his daughter to sleep. "You will do great things."

* * *

 **…**

The first few weeks of new life was an adjustment phase for Harry. Or rather Hyuuga Hinata, as she was now known. Most of the time she was left alone with her mother and a few attendants. The novelty of being a baby waned and she quickly fell into a monotony of eating, sleeping, and wiggling around.

Like a maggot.

It wasn't very exciting.

So she spent her time conversing with Death in her mind as the deity gave her scant ideas about the world she was reborn into.

 ** _'_** ** _You are in the Elemental Countries, Mistress."_** Death said, an amused note in his voice. The entity had been calling her Mistress ever since her rebirth. **_'In a place called Konohagakure.'_**

 _'_ _Village Hidden in the Leaves,'_ Hinata translated idly, smacking her gums. It felt odd not to have teeth. She squirmed in her crib and stared at the wooden bars. _'Village. Leaves. Are there a lot of trees here?'_

A few years from now Hinata would realize that her thought process had degenerated as a baby, screwing her maturity and her priorities. But for now she didn't notice.

Death certainly did.

 ** _'_** ** _Yes, there are trees. Giant ones, even.'_** The entity said indulgently.

 _'_ _Luna would have loved this place. She liked forests.'_

 ** _'_** ** _I suppose she would,'_** Death replied. **_'It is a fascinating world, one that you would want to discover on your own if you wish.'_**

 _'_ _Sure,'_ she thought back. _'You have errands again?'_

Death had been leaving her alone a lot since her rebirth and had been acting oddly. He became quieter and less open. Death said it was because he was trying to re-integrate himself into the Shinigami, this world's version of Death. Who was also him in the most basic sense.

Death was uniquely both himself and every version of himself. Just with different personalities, according to him.

 ** _'_** ** _As a matter of fact, I do have errands.'_** Death rumbled and Hinata had an odd feeling bubbling in her stomach. **_'I'm trying to digest… something. It is quite a long process, you see.'_**

 _'_ _Digest…'_ Hinata blinked at the wooden ceiling. _'What have you eaten?'_

 ** _'_ _Nothing you wouldn't approve.'_** Death groused. **' _Just that the Shinigami made a deal and consumed… something about two months ago. Transferring both the deal and the… thing he ate from him to me is quite jarring.'_**

 _'_ _Oh,'_ Hinata thought awkwardly, not really knowing how to help Death with indigestion. What would have the Shinigami eaten anyway? Apples? _'Is there anything I can do to help?'_

 ** _'_** ** _No, no. I've got it under control, Mistress.'_**

Hinata frowned dubiously. _'If you say so…'_

"Hinata-chan? Oh! You're awake."

Hinata perked up at the sound of her mother and babbled at her in greeting.

Death unknowingly smiled at her enthusiasm.

Much as she would deny it, his Mistress was incredibly attached to her new mother. It was a novelty for her to be coddled and cooed at, and she had unknowingly grew fond of her mother at first sight.

His Mistress never realized how touch-starved she was until the day Hyuuga Hiyori peeked at her with loving eyes.

Death was right to push her into the Veil of Death.

Not that he would ever own up to it.

"Oh? Your diaper isn't wet, so you must be hungry." Hiyori mused, lifting her daughter from her crib. "It's hard to tell with you Hinata-chan. You never cry that much. Such a happy baby you are."

The reincarnated immortal found that funny for some reason and began to giggle.

Her mother Hiyori was very pretty, Hinata decided. She looked fairly young, too. While Lily Potter was all fiery reds and vibrant greens, her mother Hiyori was of gentle, muted colors. Dusky blue-black hair, pale white skin, and lavender colored eyes.

Speaking of eyes…

"Looking very pretty, Hinata-chan see?" Hiyori said, lifting her towards the mirror. Eagerly, Hinata looked up to see her new face.

She looked… well, like a baby, she supposed. Her face was too young and indistinct to see if she resembled her mother or father. She did have the pale, pupil-less eyes though. Something she inherited from her mother. And father. And the rest of the people she saw, actually.

It made her intensely curious.

Those pale milky eyes with a hint of purple were present in every person she saw. Completely white eyes with no pupil present. It was like seeing a multitude of blind people. Sometimes she saw veins protrude grotesquely from the sides of their faces and judging by the way people didn't scream in horror at the sight, it was apparently a normal thing to do.

Death had mentioned that her eyes were a 'clan thing', similar to a bloodline trait like the Malfoy's looks coming from veela blood or the Black's affinity for Dark Arts.

Did that mean her new family practiced in-breeding like the magical purebloods?

She shuddered. Hopefully not to the extent of some of the pureblood families he knew, like the Goyles or Bulstrodes.

 _'_ _Death? Can you tell me about my eyes?'_

It took a while for the entity to respond. **_'I thought you wanted to discover this world by yourself, Mistress.'_**

 _'_ _That's true.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Well then. Treat your eyes as something you should figure out on your own.'_**

"Oh? What's got your face all scrunched up, Hinata-chan?" her mother said, producing a bottle of milk in her hand. "I hope your father hadn't been teaching you how to scowl."

She angled the bottle of milk and smiled when Hinata popped the rubber nipple in her mouth. Hiyori couldn't breastfeed her daughter herself since she wasn't able produce milk in her weakened state, but thankfully Hinata seemed to appreciate powdered formula.

A knock on the door made them look up.

"Hiashi-sama?" Hiyori said, almost pulling the bottle away from her daughter in surprise.

Hinata's eyebrows shot up at the sight of her father. He rarely showed during midday, most likely busy with work. She only saw him during early mornings or late at night, although he never forgot to give her a kiss on the forehead or a caress on the cheek.

Her new father was a stoic one. He had long brown hair, a refined face, and had a regal bearing that reminded her of Snape without his maliciousness or Lucius Malfoy without his arrogance.

She reached out for him with garbled greetings. Hiashi's stern eyes softened and he took her from her mother, taking the bottle of milk from Hiyori and feeding his daughter the last of her meal.

"The clan council is reconvening." Hiashi murmured to his wife. Neither of them missed the focus in their daughter's eyes. "They wish to assess Hinata's… health."

Hiyori sighed at the underlying words. "To see if she's fit to be future clan head."

Hiashi nodded. The issue of naming an heir or heiress was not a large debacle. It wouldn't be a big deal at all and Hinata would have been named heiress upon birth had not the Kyuubi affair prompted the healers to report that she may be born weak. The elders had demanded for a formal inquiry before giving their approval.

"Yes. Among other things," Hiashi said, smoothing his daughter's wispy hair. "The meeting starts in an hour. Enough time to get Hinata dressed presentably. You should call the attendants and see to her fitting."

"Of course. I'll be right back." Hiyori smiled and left the room, her footsteps getting fainter with every step.

Hiashi paused. Once he was sure his wife wasn't within range, he activated his Byakugan and stared at his child's chakra pathways.

It was still there.

At first he thought it was a fluke, but it was now undeniable.

There was another set of chakra pathways intersecting his daughter's normal ones.

A thin, threadlike golden vein was present underneath Hinata's developing blue chakra. It was not visible to most and even the most proficient Byakugan user would have difficulty spotting it. It was thin, almost indistinguishable, like how a string would be compared to an oak tree.

Apart from his twin, no other Byakugan user would be able to spot the chakra anomaly. Hizashi had the same mastery over their dojutsu as he did, which was why Hiashi was reluctant to have his brother near his daughter this early. Questions would be raised, and as long as he was not assured of the golden chakra's purpose, Hiashi would tell no one.

Thankfully, his brother had no reason to activate his Byakugan near Hinata, so the possibility of him finding out about her golden chakra was slim.

He had a feeling it was not harmful. The one time he flared a tiny amount of killing intent towards his sleeping daughter, the thin gold chakra flared to life, bolstering Hinata's blue chakra until it was practically blinding his sight.

Hiashi was almost sure it was the reason why Hiyori had not miscarried their daughter. He had reason to believe that the bright gold chakra was why Hinata was so perfect and healthy despite the medics' vehement claims that she would be born deformed or physically weak. It might even be the cause of her chakra discharge on the day of her birth.

It was Hinata's protection, and so as long as it was present, no harm would come to his daughter.

He deactivated his Byakugan and smiled at the inquisitive look on Hinata's face.

"You're very curious for one so young, daughter." He murmured.

"The seamstress will be sending over some baby clothes appropriate for a formal affair." Hiyori said, appearing inside the room. "Hinata-chan has finished her milk, by the way."

"Will you attend the meeting?" Hiashi said, absently pulling the empty bottle of milk from his daughter's mouth. He lifted Hinata's head to his shoulder and patted her tiny back, handing the bottle back to his wife.

"No, I won't." Hiyori said, smiling faintly at the ease of how her husband handled their child. "The elders won't approve of my presence and that will just affect Hinata's standing. There shall be a celebration after this, I take it?"

"The degree of it would depend on how suitable they deem her." Hiashi said impassively. Hinata burped lightly and his mouth twitched. He stroked his child's hair once more before handing her over to Hiyori.

After being dressed in fine silk and deemed ready, Hiyori handed Hinata over to her husband with a murmured, 'good luck'.

Hiashi's footsteps were inaudible as they strode through the wooden hallway. His daughter was silent, probably taking in her new surroundings.

The Hyuuga Clan Head knew that there was something strange about his child. She was far too smart and aware. At a few weeks of age she was responding to her name already and could pinpoint him and Hiyori whenever they were around by moving her head, as if she instinctively knew who her parents were. At times Hiashi caught her staring at people intensely, like she was trying to commit them to memory.

And there was her golden chakra of hers. A new kekkei genkai maybe?

' _Perhaps_ ,' Hiashi thought. ' _The elders got the genius child they wanted._ '

But he digress. It was too early to tell.

He didn't know if he should look dread or look forward to the future if Hinata was truly deemed exceptional. Because as prodigious as Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi were, no child deserved to have eyes as haunted as theirs.

* * *

 **…**

The Hyuuga Clan meeting assembled on time, the members taking their seats as their hierarchy dictated. At the very front sat Hyuuga Takahiro, the former clan head and the father of Hiashi and Hizashi. Normally it was the seat of the current clan head, however as it was Hiashi's daughter they were assessing, Takahiro was chosen to lead the meeting.

On both his sides were his twin sons, Hiashi on his right to represent the Main House and Hizashi on his left to represent the Branch House. Hiashi was cradling his daughter, an odd sight for the usually stoic man, and Takahiro smiled at the obvious care Hiashi had for his child.

They started the meeting by discussing most clan affairs first. Finances, family concerns, the current status of the active Hyuuga shinobi. Then the topic of the infant heiress was brought up. As is tradition, Hiashi presented the medical files from Hinata's birth, confirming her as his true blood daughter and therefore eligible to take the mantle as heiress.

"She has a good developing chakra network," One of the elders who was formerly a medic said, her Byakugan activated. "A very active one for a child so young."

"She should be trained to activate her Byakugan then," The twins' uncle Nobuki spoke up. "The Uchiha heir activated his dojutsu already. The Byakugan takes less time to awaken, and the earlier the better."

Hiashi inwardly sneered at that. To compare the Byakugan and Sharingan's learning curve was foolish. Everyone knew that they activated through different means. Yet again another empty competition between the Uchiha and Hyuuga elders.

"She has otherworldly eyes." Takahiro murmured, staring at his granddaughter as she rested on the crook of Hiashi's arms. Hinata's tranquil eyes gazed back at him.

"Father?" Hiashi said in slight confusion. The other members of the council looked at each other confusedly as well. The Hyuuga as a whole had otherworldly eyes, it was their most distinguishing trait.

"Give her here, Hiashi." Takahiro commanded. The current clan head obeyed, passing his daughter to his father.

Hinata did not cry, nor did she squirm in discomfort. Instead, she stared at her grandfather, meeting his eyes with what almost looked like bored scrutiny. She swiped her fingers and tugged on her grandfather's beard.

"Hinata—"

Takahiro chuckled, waving Hiashi's reprimand away. "She is a baby, Hiashi. A feisty one at that. And her eyes… Yes, she has seen things."

Even as their faces remained stoic, an air of bewilderment rested on the Hyuuga council. Hiashi was wondering if his father had gone slightly senile.

"She doesn't… have the Byakugan yet, father." Hiashi said slowly. Could his father sense his daughter's strange chakra? "What do you mean by 'she had seen things'?"

Takahiro hummed, ignoring his son's comment. "I commend you for siring a strong child, Hiashi. I can feel it in my bones. She is one to watch. Yet only time will tell if she could live up to her birthright."

Hiashi mentally breathed a sigh of relief, nodding at his father's approval. He was still confused at his father's comment, but he got what he came for. He had the previous clan head's support to name Hinata as heiress. The rest of the council will follow.

He spied his twin at the corner of his eye. Hizashi's expression was blank, but Hiashi knew him well enough to see the bitter undertone in his expression.

The clan head inwardly sighed. He knew his twin disliked the implications of Hinata's birth. It meant that his own son, Neji, would inevitably receive the Caged Bird Seal someday and be delegated as a Branch House member, possibly serve under Hinata even. Yet although Hiashi understood the almost hostile air Hizashi radiated, empathized with him even, he would never allow his twin to behave aggressively towards his daughter.

Hizashi had better learn to control his emotions.

Otherwise Hiashi would be forced to activate his seal to teach him a lesson.

* * *

...

 **A/N:** So I have some world-building going on. Hinata's still a baby, she can't do much and she's coming in this world blank.

Hinata's mother was never named in canon so I took the liberty of naming her. Hiyori means 'weather' but it can also mean 'harmonious sun', a play on the Hyuuga's tendency to give out sunny names.

By the way, I put up an explanation about updates on my other stories on my profile. Just check it out.

If you have any scenes you want to see or canon characters you want her to meet early, then write them in your reviews for me to put into consideration. I don't know how AU this is gonna get, but I'll cope as I go.

Before I end, did any of you realize who Death was 'digesting'? XD

Read and review.

Memory out.


	3. Moving Forward

**A/N: A short chapter, mostly filler things that are unfortunately necessary. This is still mostly in Hinata's POV although we'll see some other people's periphery as we move along.**

 **Thank you for all your support in my stories! It keeps me going. And thanks for all the answers for last chapter's question, a lot of you got it correctly. I'm not going to elaborate because I might bring it up again someday in the future *hint hint*. And kudos to CelestialPirateQueen for picking up the Bleach reference. Loved that manga, bummed at the ending tho.**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. Thank you.

 **CHAPTER THREE-Moving Forward**

* * *

...

The Hyuuga clan celebrated the birth of their heiress for three days. It was a dignified, solemn celebration, as befitting for a noble family.

Hinata was just trying to swallow the fact that she was now related to almost a hundred people.

They were her relatives no doubt. The same dark hair, pale skin, and milky white eyes. They were _supposed_ to be celebrating, or something along those lines, but it was a quiet occasion and nothing rowdy, definitely.

This Hyuuga gathering reminded her of a pureblood soiree or Ministry gala. Which was depressing, because those occasions were reserved for politicians and high society, not a family party. It was clear to her that her new family were not affectionate people, at least not openly.

"Hizashi." Her father said above her, making the chest she was leaning on rumble. "It is good to see you in great health."

Hinata perked up at the name of her uncle. Much to her surprise earlier, she found out that her father had a twin. An identical twin whom she had never met. Granted, she had only been living for two months and her memory might be spotty, so she might have met him before but couldn't remember.

"Yes. And congratulations on the birth of your heiress, _aniue_." Her uncle Hizashi said, tilting his head respectfully.

Hinata stared at him with wide eyes. Apart from the odd forehead plate he was wearing, she wouldn't be able to tell him from his father.

"Aa. Thank you for your greetings." Her father nodded back. They continued to talk, the low buzz of their conversation making Hinata drowsy.

Seeing her father and uncle together brought Fred and George at the forefront of her mind. The rambunctious, devilish redheads couldn't be more different from her father and uncle. While you couldn't pry Fred and George apart with a crowbar with how close they were, her father and Uncle Hizashi had a static sort of tension going through them. They barely met each other's eyes and they acted like formal strangers.

As she drifted off to sleep, Hinata wondered what happened to her father and uncle for them to act that way.

* * *

 **…**

Hinata hadn't seen her uncle again since that meeting. She hadn't seen any of her relatives after the meeting, actually.

She was a few months old now.

She grew a crop of hair on her head. It was the same blue-black color of her mother's, and Hiyori had crowed proudly at that. Hinata also had her skin color and eye shape, and she inherited her father's cheekbones and nose. All in all, she was a nice-looking baby.

 _'_ _I'm bored.'_ She thought to herself, gnawing on a soft toy.

 ** _'_** ** _Yes. You've said so quite a few times now, Mistress. Five hundred seventy-eight times, in my last count_**. **_If you really_** **_can't stand it anymore, I might have a few ways to entertain you.'_**

 _'_ _Subjugating an entire civilization is not entertaining, Death.'_

 ** _'_** ** _But—'_**

 _'_ _No.'_

Hinata ignored Death's sullen silence. The entity had been growing bloodthirsty lately, telling her tales of other worlds that self-destructed on its own due to a calamity or two. No other baby could claim to have scary bedtime stories told to them by Death himself.

She wondered if the entity's change in personality was due to the Shinigami he was absorbing.

Death's company aside, it was still her and her parents. They became quite isolated for some reason. Her mother had servants attending her needs and her grandfather dropped by sometimes to have tea with her parents, but otherwise it was just the three of them for the time being.

Hinata did appreciated the peace and quiet. The house they lived in was bright and airy, and she had a pretty nursery where her mother would drop her in and try to entertain her with soft toys.

But while her new baby mind became quite riveted at the pink rabbit and brown bear plush her mother gave her to chew on, she also had the memories of a hundred year old wizard. A hundred year old wizard who had been on the constant move when he was still alive.

Her life had been an unpredictable whirlwind of chaos as Harry. She wandered and explored and battled quite a few beasts. She sought knowledge and taught students and _killed._

But now she had a _routine._ A _domestic_ routine.

The long stretch of boredom made for a very frustrated baby. As young as she was, she couldn't stand the idea of being idle. She couldn't even _remember_ the last time she was this idle.

So Hinata decided to _move._

* * *

 **…**

"How was the village council meeting?" Hiyori asked as Hiashi accompanied her to tuck Hinata in for the night.

Hiashi frowned faintly, the creases in his brows barely visible in the faint light. "Exhausting. Fugaku was demanding to allow more Uchiha shinobi on the active roster. We know that isn't possible—"

"Tou." A tiny tentative voice chirped between them.

The couple blinked, Hiashi snapping his mouth shut as they diverted their full attention to their daughter, unsure if that was a real word or…

"Tou!" Hinata said again, pale eyes staring at her father. "Tou… papa?"

A burst of laughter came forth Hiyori's mouth, torn between amusement that their daughter seemed confused on how to address her father and upset that she called Hiashi first.

"Otou-sama." Hiashi blurted out to correct her, still wide-eyed at the fact that his four month-old daughter had just said her first word.

"Tou-s'ma." Hinata smiled gummily. Hiashi's heart swelled.

A sniffle.

"Hiyori?" Hiashi said in alarm, turning to his wife.

"H-her first words were all about you Hiashi!" Hiyori said. "I don't know whether to be proud or sad! But it's just unfair—I'm the one with Hinata-chan most of the time and—"

"Mama?" Hinata was looking at her mother this time.

As his wife squealed in joy, Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief that Hinata managed to defuse the bomb that was her mother. Hiyori got too emotional sometimes.

* * *

 **…**

It was like a fuse had been lit inside the Hyuuga heiress.

After her first words at four months, she had learned to walk at five and by the time she was eight months old, she was talking in short but full sentences and was walking in straight lines.

"She didn't even crawl that long," Hiyori told her father-in-law, watching her baby totter calmly all over her garden. "Just enough to wiggle her rump and get on her knees to walk."

Hiashi's lips twitched at the memory.

"As expected of the Hyuuga heiress." Takahiro said solemnly, taking a sip of green tea.

For her part, Hinata was pleased to accomplish her milestones early because she got to see her parents' gobsmacked faces. She delighted in how her mother would laugh in excitement and how her father's jaw would slacken before he tried to compose himself, emitting a quiet air of pride.

"Hinata-chan."

She perked up at her grandfather's call, walking over to the open shade where they were having tea. She liked her grandfather. Takahiro-ojii was wizened and old and wrinkly, but his personality was what she imagined Fleamont Potter would have been like had he lived longer.

She went to him and nuzzled her face at his side, hugging him as much as her short arms would allow.

"Hinata." Hiashi said in admonishment as his wife giggled.

"She likes cuddling very much," Hiyori told her bemused father-in-law. "She liked to hug Hiashi and me when she can."

Takahiro chuckled and gently pried her from his side, patting her head. "Hinata-chan."

"Jii-s'ma." Hinata greeted, handing him a bunch of freshly picked flowers.

"The petunias again," Hiyori sighed at the pink blooms Takahiro accepted graciously. She looked at her daughter in admonishment. "You're always plucking the petunias, Hinata-chan. I'm not sure if you want them so much or you just don't want me to plant them anymore."

Takahiro chuckled, placing the flowers on the side table. He lifted his granddaughter up and placed her in his lap. "Has she began chakra exercises already?"

"Yes she has, father. Although we kept it simple, exposing her to chakra-saturated air only." Hiashi replied. It was the first step to introducing infants to chakra, testing their sensitivity.

Hinata's reaction had been a positive one. She had instantly recognized something was wrong and darted her head towards her father, who was the source of it. Normally babies her age would feel a slight discomfort at the heavy pressurized chakra, but Hinata had been intuitive enough to trace the origin and not fear it as well.

Hiashi had expected it of her. He _had_ flared killing intent at her when she was younger. Granted, it had been a small amount, but she didn't even wake up at that point and her strange golden chakra even honed at Hiashi and bolstered her coils.

Perhaps she would be a sensor someday. Coupled with the Byakugan it would make a devastating combination.

"Hmm… Maybe she'd be amenable to direct exposure then." Takahiro said thoughtfully.

The old man coated his hands with chakra and presented it to his granddaughter. Confused, Hinata looked at her own palms and squinted. Takahiro opened his mouth to instruct his granddaughter to place her hands in his so she could feel his chakra, but Hinata apparently decided to do her own thing. Her own hands began to glow, bright and warm.

Takahiro almost dropped her in shock.

Hiashi made a disbelieving noise and activated his Byakugan to confirm that yes, Hinata had awakened her chakra at ten months old. The gasp from his wife told him that she had activated her eyes to inspect their daughter too.

His mouth tightened and he fought the urge to have his daughter examined. It was one thing to subconsciously emit chakra at birth but to deliberately call it forth without any difficulty at her age was unprecedented. Hiashi could see Hinata's bright blue coils vibrant with energy, could even spot her strange golden chakra glowing as well.

"She has the reserves of a five-year old." Hiashi said quietly, switching off his Byakugan. He placed a comforting hand on his troubled wife's shoulder and glanced at his father. "It doesn't look like it's overwhelming her."

"Extraordinary." Takahiro murmured. He dimmed his chakra and watched as Hinata copied him easily. "Very good, Hinata."

"Warm," Hinata frowned at her hand. "What is, jii-sama?"

"What is it," Takahiro corrected automatically. "It is chakra, Hinata."

"Chakra," she parroted.

"Indeed. Chakra is living energy. It is in everything. But not everyone can use it." Takahiro said.

"Like… magic?" Hinata said in a hushed tone, eyes wide.

Takahiro turned to his daughter-in-law, who shook her head confusedly. "No, Hinata. It is not magic. Chakra is real and powerful."

But magic _is_ real and powerful, Hinata wanted to say. She _had_ magic.

"Father," Hiashi interrupted, sparing a glance at his daughter. "I do not think Hinata is old enough to understand the implications of chakra."

Oh. Right. Barely a year old.

"I think she understands more that she lets on, Hiashi." Takahiro chuckled. But he did drop the topic and patted her granddaughter on the head. "Thank you for the flowers, Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled and left the grown-ups to their conversation, staring at her palm.

Chakra, huh? This world had chakra.

Does this mean she lost her magic?

 ** _'_** ** _No, Mistress.'_**

She jumped in surprise, almost tripping herself on the grass. _'Death? I thought you were out today?'_

 ** _'_** ** _Yes. But I couldn't help but be drawn by your question.'_** She felt Death settle in her mind. **_'You have not lost your magic, Mistress. In fact, it has integrated into you in a fascinating way.'_**

 _'_ _And let me guess… It's up to me to figure out how?'_

 ** _'_** ** _Of course.'_** The entity said with a touch of fondness. **_'Unless you want me to reveal everything about this world to you. Being omniscient is very interesting—'_**

 _'_ _No, thank you.'_ Hinata thought with a smile, squinting at her palms again. It was refreshing, the idea of discovering something new. _'I want to do this on my own, please.'_

Death chuckled darkly. Such a shame. If only his Mistress was amenable, she could take over this world and be venerated. But she refused to receive any power that didn't come from her own effort and had long since been firm about not ruling over anything.

Oh well. That was why Death was fond of her in the first place.

For now he would be a spectator and would let his Mistress be.

* * *

 **…**

After her grandfather demonstrated how to emit chakra to her, Hinata realized that it was easier to mold than magic. Chakra was smoother for her somehow. She could feel it coursing through her body like a fuzzy, static blanket. When she saturated her palms with it, she could control its consistency, making it as dense as syrup or as runny as water.

She would coat her hands with it for hours, and she entertained herself by placing her palms against the wall and finding the right consistency to make it stick.

Her father had walked in on her doing it once and he backtracked out of the room again, muttering something about 'chakra control' and 'wall-walking'.

Just a scant two months before her first birthday, Hinata felt an annoying, niggling wiggle at the back of her mind. She was curious and irritated at the sensation and so she mentally prodded it, imagining a needle poking a thin strip of paper.

A tense heartbeat later, sharp pain flooded her eyes.

She could suddenly see _everything._

And oh, Merlin. There were so many things to _see._

Her room, and the room beyond that— she could see her mother knitting and her father in the garden and the servants walking and _what were those weird lines in their body_ —

She panicked, naturally. Her scream was heard by her mother, who quickly entered the nursery and let out a sharp gasp at the veins protruding at the sides of her daughter's face.

"—barely a year old, Hiashi! I told you not to do any more chakra exercises with her!" Hiyori exclaimed as Hiashi knelt beside his bewildered child.

"Hinata," he said, cradling her head firmly. "Calm down."

"I… " she hesitated, clutching her father's sleeve. "Tou-sama—"

"Hinata," Hiashi intoned. He was not sure if she understood him but he was panicking internally and just wanted Hinata's Byakugan _off._ "This is our dojutsu. It is called the Byakugan, do you understand? Now, I want you to feel something in your mind. There is a rush of chakra flowing through your eyes. I want you to smother it—yes, that's it."

The couple breathed a sigh of relief when Hinata's eyes returned to normal. She blinked and wavered at the loss of sight.

So this… _this_ was the Byakugan.

Turning off the Byakugan was disconcerting. It was like seeing everything for the first time and then forcing yourself to see through a needle. The world turned dull and gray and she felt _blind._

Except she _wasn't_ blind, and she didn't know if it was stranger that she could suddenly see in three-hundred sixty degrees or that no longer seeing things that way felt like she was sightless.

Hinata didn't know what to do. She felt out of sorts, almost unbalanced, and so she let her childish instincts take control for once and burst into tears, sobbing at the alien feeling in her mind and eyes.

Death was with her in a heartbeat. Death soothed her mental cries, answering her confusion that ' _yes, her whole family has it'_ and ' _no, she was not a freak, this was a good thing'._

She was presented to the elders again, not long after. Hinata activated her eyes for them to assess and she could practically hear their smug thoughts at the sight of her Byakugan. A medic was brought in and declared her chakra coils far larger than average, meaning she could sustain the Byakugan for more than thirty minutes. The elders swelled with pride once more.

It took everything in Hinata not to scowl at them. Her father's eye was twitching, and she was glad to know that she wasn't the only one irked at their misplaced arrogance.

Her grandfather congratulated her sincerely though, and that was nice.

* * *

 **…**

Hiashi massaged his aching temples.

His daughter, his _barely a year old_ daughter, had activated the Byakugan.

He had instructed Hinata not to activate her eyes again in the gravest voice he could muster.

Yes, he was proud of her. The blood of the Hyuuga clan ran strong through her veins and it pleased him to see how determined she was to excel.

And yet the sight of her Byakugan eyes peering at him made him feel cautious.

Their _dojutsu_ was dangerous. Unlike the Sharingan which activated through extreme emotion, the Byakugan is available to every Hyuuga at birth. The problem was that like all _kekkei genkai_ , the Byakugan needed chakra to activate and newborn infants _did not_ have the chakra capacity to sustain the Byakugan.

Several babies have died after they went through shock at birth and unwittingly awakened their eyes earlier than they could manage.

Thankfully a small medical sealing procedure halted the activation of the Byakugan at birth, and it was applied to all Hyuuga children. It was only effective on infants and the seal would deteriorate naturally once the child's subconscious deems its chakra capacity sufficient enough to activate the Byakugan without harm.

That meant that Hinata's mind deemed its chakra capacity large enough to deteriorate the medical seal and activate the Byakugan without hand signs. At ten months old.

Hiashi sighed. The elders had been insufferable. They wanted Hinata trained in the use of their _dojutsu_ as soon as possible. While that was feasible enough, he feared that the more his daughter showed promise, the greedier they would get.

He had seen Uchiha Itachi in passing a few days ago. The child had bags under his eyes, for Kami's sake.

He would not let that happen to his daughter. He would train her himself if he had to, if only to make sure that she would never stretch herself to the brink of desperation.

* * *

…

 **A/N:** Hiashi had been a hard-ass on Hinata in canon but I believe he just wanted her to be strong enough for herself to be clan head someday. In here his daughter shows promise. Instead of pushing her to the limits, he becomes cautious in handling her because he doesn't want her to burn out.

Hinata is out of sorts now. Her mind is adjusting and she is not fully Harry anymore, which unbalances her emotions and way of thinking.

The process of awakening the Byakugan is my own theory. In canon, it is said that most Hyuuga can have the Byakugan at birth but we all know that the Byakugan siphons chakra like any normal dojutsu. Now I can only imagine a distressed newborn going into shock from being birthed and awakening their Byakugan. The medial seal is placed on every baby just in case it happens.

Next chapter is a time skip and would bring us to Hinarry (Hinata and Harry lol) as a three year old. A lot of words. A lot of stuff. Hinata will now get a gist of the world she was born into. Hopefully we get to introduce some of the Naruto characters as well.

If there are any mistakes in this chapter, please point it out for me. Like I said, Hyuuga facts are very few and they were not as mentioned as much as the Uchiha or Senju.

Read and review.

Memory out.


	4. Colorful Sun

**A/N: *checks my notifications* *chokes at 860 faves and 1k follows* Within three chapters? I'm really flattered guys. So as thanks, I give you this extra-long chapter. Now, I might get some criticism from this about Hinarry's power levels, but I am struggling to make her as non-Mary Sue-ish as possible right now (which is ironic because what I plan to do with this story will make her… well. You'll just have to wait and see.) But she's just a kid right now. She's not going to create hurricanes or summon gods in her jammies. But that doesn't mean she can't make changes at her non-superpowered state.**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. Thank you.

 **CHAPTER FOUR- Colorful Sun**

* * *

 **…**

At the heart of the Hyuuga compound, one little girl sat in a seiza in front of a solemn young man. There was a long black cloth spread out on the floor between them, weapons littered on top.

A hand pointed at several black daggers with a small ring attached to the end of it.

"Kunai. Good for both throwing and in melee combat."

An approving nod. Then a gesture at a pouch filled with four-pronged metal stars.

"Shuriken. The circle in the middle balances the throw. Long-ranged weapon."

A thoughtful hum. Then a wave at a tangle of innocent-looking threads.

"Ninja wire. Used for trapping, binding or restricting the movements of an opponent."

"Very good. Hinata-sama. Full marks." Hyuuga Ko said approvingly at the little heiress sitting in front of him. He then pointed at another batch of weapons aligned with the others. "And these?"

"Er…" Hinata blinked. Long, needle-like projectiles. Firm, but looked malleable. "I haven't seen that one before."

"Senbon, Hinata-sama." Ko said, eyes crinkling. "It is a long-ranged weapon, clearly, and can only be used if you have great accuracy. A good hit with a senbon can paralyze a pressure point."

"Oh. Senbon." Hinata nodded, taking one and testing the weight on her hand.

"This concludes your introductory lesson on basic ninja weapons." Ko said, pulling out a scroll. "I shall be writing a letter to Hiashi-sama about your progress. By the end of the year you might be doing practical lessons with shuriken and kunai. Wouldn't that be fun, Hinata-sama?"

"Yes," Hinata said absently, palming the senbon. She stared at the other weapons laid in front of her. Sharp, deadly weapons… "Fun."

This was the fifth lesson she had with Ko. At three years old now, Hinata was being trained in the shinobi way. And while she still continued to show prowess in everything she did, there was always a sliver of doubt at the back of her mind.

It has been three years since she started her identity as Hyuuga Hinata. It had been a strange three years since then, and she knew it was going to get even stranger.

After her second birthday, Hinata realized that the world she lived in now was as unforgiveable as the world she lived in before, even more so actually.

She knew she should have realized it earlier, back when Death told her that this world was _interesting._ Interesting things for Death usually involved the dangerous, gory, decapitating kind, so Hinata should not have been surprised that she was reincarnated in this crazy world.

Like the killing intent. It was nothing new to Hinata.

She experienced it before. The feel of the cloying, suffocating, murderous resolve was something that Voldemort perfected. By her fourth year in Hogwarts, she was familiar with killing intent already. She was even more exposed to it when she began to explore the world and met vicious magical creatures intent on making a snack out of her.

That was why when her father Hiashi began to emit killing intent while he stared at her from her crib, she tensed in surprise but continued to meet his pale eyes in the dark.

That was the first sign.

Then at eight months, she was introduced to chakra by her grandfather, who described it to her as something real and powerful. Chakra that felt warm and encompassing, but had a lethal edge to it just begging to be _used_. Unleashed.

That was the second sign.

Then of course, her last sign. The Byakugan.

She supposed that she might have been too caught up with having parents again and being too fascinated with the world with a baby's eyes that she didn't even pause to think what it all entailed.

Well she had an idea _now_.

Her father had brought her to a training area one day and she watched with shock as two of her distant cousins began to spit fire and fling earth boulders around, battling each other with a complex fighting style that was too fast for her eyes to follow.

And that was when her father told her that she would be doing the same someday. She would serve the village as a shinobi, as a tool for their Kage, as the heiress of their clan.

 _"_ _See this, Hinata? One day the honor of leading the Hyuuga will be yours, just as it is mine for now."_

The world she lived in was dominated by _ninja_. Shinobi. Mercenaries for hire.

And Hinata was reborn in one of the most infamous shinobi clan in the Elemental Nations.

At first she had been speechless. When Death told her that her new life would be _interesting,_ she didn't expect this at all. The rush of curiosity flooded her body and she didn't sleep that night, her mind going through everything she saw and learned.

"Ko-nii?" Hinata said in the silence. She gripped the senbon in her hand. Her elder cousin was still writing his report.

"Yes, Hinata-sama?" Ko said, looking up from his scroll and darting curious pale eyes at her.

Hinata hesitated, thumbing the edge of her yukata. "What's outside of the village? Is it dangerous?"

At once, Ko's smooth face turned grave. "Yes, Hinata-sama. Outside is dangerous. You are not allowed to go outside without someone with you, alright?"

Hinata bit her lip. "But when I'm older…"

"When you are trained, Hiashi-sama will undoubtedly let you go on your own." Ko reached out to pat her head. "But for now you are just three, Hinata-sama. You must not leave on your own. Enemies may take you from your bed and never give you back to your parents."

It was obvious that Ko was trying to scare her, but Hinata understood his underlying message.

This world was violent. Her clan was combat-oriented, which meant that there was conflict somewhere outside. And children like her were going to be trained in battle at a young age, just as how her cousins were furiously sparring against each other on the training field.

It was…

Well.

She didn't know what to think. She didn't know how to react.

"Ko-nii?" Hinata piped up again.

"Hai, Hinata-sama?"

"Are there kids like me that are being trained too?" Hinata probed. "Like tou-sama trains me?"

There was hesitance in Ko's eyes this time. "Well, you are a special case, Hinata-sama. You are being trained early because you grasp the basics brilliantly."

"Because I'm a prodigy." Hinata said promptly. "Tou-sama said so."

She was cheating, she knew. They look at her and see prodigy, because that was the most sensible conclusion. But a hundred year old wizard in a three-year old girl's body was cheating, no matter how you look at it.

"Yes, that's right Hinata-sama." Ko agreed absently, unaware that the tiny girl in front of him was having an existential crisis. "Children from families like ours are usually trained at age five or six. But you are a genius in training, Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama knows that you can handle it already."

Hinata had drowned Ko's words the moment she heard the typical ages children were trained at.

Five.

Six.

Five and six-year olds were being taught to fight and handle sharp weapons.

She didn't know that.

Hinata closed her eyes. It was one thing to let _her_ fight, seeing as she wasn't really a three-year old, but to think that actual five and six year olds were getting instructions on how to _kill…_

There was a tiny voice inside her head screaming about the morality of it all, how barbaric it was to let children fight. A tiny voice that sounded like her three-year old self; soft-spoken, young, and girlish.

But then there was another voice in her head, drawling about how this was the way of the world and if teaching children to fight would let them survive another day, then she should let it be. This voice sounded like her apathetic, hundred-year old self, the one that had seen even more atrocious things done in the course of her lifetime. A voice that couldn't care less.

She silenced both of them.

Hinata did not want to dwell on it for now. She decided on a wait-and-see approach.

Hinata didn't know everything about this world yet. It was too soon to jump into conclusions. If her whole family could dedicate itself to the way of shinobi, it meant that it had a deeper meaning than killing and fighting. She was going to find out what, and when that time comes, she would make a decision.

"Ko-nii?"

"Yes, Hinata-sama?"

She opened her eyes, staring at her cousin solemnly. "I'm going to do my best, Ko-nii. I'm going to be a great shinobi, kind like mama and strong like tou-sama. I'll be great, I promise."

Ko smiled at her. "You don't have to promise anyone that, Hinata-sama. Just do your best and I'm sure everyone will cheer you on."

Hinata nodded, taking a deep breath.

She was not going to overthink.

For now, she was just Hyuuga Hinata, daughter of Hiashi and Hiyori, heiress of the Hyuuga clan. She was a child determined to learn and be the best to prove to everyone that she could be strong on her own.

She could do this. This was her life now and she was not going to be beaten.

She'll make her mark in this world and this time, it'll be her choice to do so.

* * *

 **…**

"Have fun, Hinata-chan. And I made you some snacks just in case you get hungry." Hiyori said with a smile, handing her daughter a neatly wrapped paper bag.

"Thank you, mama. But I'm just going to out to play." Hinata said as she put on her sandals. "I won't be long."

"Oh, but what if you make some friends? You can get to know people better with food in front of you." Hiyori said sagely, kissing her cheek. "Now make sure you follow Ko's instructions. You're a good girl, Hinata-chan so I know you'll behave yourself."

"Yes, mama." Hinata said, fixing her wrinkled sleeve. She observed herself in the mirror. Her mother had decided to outfit her today and so she was wearing a plain, light blue _jinbei_. A yellow headband was stuffed on her short hair.

Her mother had convinced her father to let her out of the compound. Her father agreed despite the elders' nagging, citing her progress in her studies as a reason for a reward. Hinata was looking forward to a day of freedom. She loved her parents and the time they dedicated for her to learn, but she liked the idea of exploring outside with less supervision.

"Ko-nii, faster!" Hinata called, laughing when her caretaker scrambled to bow at her parents before exasperatedly following her out of the compound. "You're slow for a shinobi."

"Am not, Hinata-sama." Ko said, firmly taking her hand before she could ran off. She pouted at him. "Now where do you want to go?"

"Park!"

"Park it is, hime." Ko said with a smile.

Hinata beamed at her caretaker. She was very fond of Ko. At eighteen, he was the youngest person she constantly interacted with. Hinata knew there were children in the compound, but she never got to meet them for some reason and spent most of her time being tutored by Ko instead.

While the eighteen-year old acted too formally to be a big brother figure to her, he did have the scholarly nanny vibe going for him. He was like a nicer version of Percy. Or a stricter Bill.

Hinata hummed as they walked, staring at the village. She knew she was in a completely different world, but that didn't stop her from observing her surroundings to compare it to her old one.

Konoha seemed to be a combination of time periods. There were modern places such as restaurants and movie theatres, but they seemed to be far more expensive and limited than she expected them to be. The cameras and radios she could spy inside shops looked clunky and old-fashioned. There were no vehicles and people seemed to rely on carts and wagons. It was confusing Hinata on how people could have one type of technology without having the other.

They found a nice-looking park a few streets away from home. It was shady and had a playground for children to scamper about, with a small sitting area for guardians to look after their kids.

"I can play on my own, Ko-nii." Hinata said, pushing her reluctant caretaker towards the sitting area. He didn't budge one bit. Stupid grown-up ninja…

"I am supposed to watch over you, Hinata-sama." the chunin said stubbornly.

"And you can do that while you sit on your own." Hinata said, giving up on physically herding Ko. She can persuade him with words, however. "I'll be good. I won't wander away."

Ko hesitated for another second before acquiescing. He knew that the little heiress was fairly reasonable despite her age, and so he sat behind and watched her ran away.

The other children paid Hinata no mind, either too caught up in playing with their own friends or looking wary at the sight of her pale eyes and the calm way she carried herself. She ignored them as well, content in her lonesome.

Hinata plopped on the sandbox happily, squishing the gravel beneath her fingertips, relishing in the laughter and screams of the children around her. It felt good to relax, to feel like a normal kid without the thoughts of a clan heiress or a reincarnated wizard burdening the forefront of her mind.

She stretched out her magic, letting it sink through her pores. She was pleasantly surprised that she had an easier time calling it to her today. It had been very difficult for her to pinpoint the magic inside her. When she first found it, it was very faint to her senses. Her chakra easily eclipsed her magic in terms of power.

Her control over it was horrendous. Worse, she didn't have a wand or any kind of focus, so she had to make do with attempting wandless magic. The first time she attempted a spell, she accidentally hit one of her mother's ornate vases and felt magically drained for days. Hinata didn't want to take a chance with any kind of accidental magic while she was growing up and so she tried to keep in under wraps while she was inside the compound.

Right now she doubted that she could perform a full-fledged spell. A small _confundo_ maybe, but anything else was out of her grasp.

She could perform mild stinging hexes though, flicking it with her finger.

She knew that if she asked, Death would give her her full magic back in a heartbeat. But the idea of gaining it so flippantly just sounded disrespectful. And Hinata doubted that it wouldn't have any drawbacks. She knew her lack of control over her magic came from the fact that she was just three. A tiny body would not be able to handle that much magic. And if you factor in how much chakra she had, she might just spontaneously combust like an overcharged mini-battery.

Still, she could feel her magic and was content with just knowing that it existed within her.

Hinata snuck a fleeting glance at Ko who was immersed in a book he was reading. Then she looked up at the clear sky.

She found it a little funny that her family, the All-Seeing clan, could not sense magic. There was irony in there…

"Hm?" Hinata cocked her head as her senses alerted her to something interesting.

There was a cheerful ball of warm chakra a few feet away from her. It felt like a large bonfire crackling away endlessly and Hinata's brows went up to her hairline when she realized that the chakra's presence felt bigger than her father's.

She looked up from her position in the sand to spot where the warm chakra originated. It brought her sight to a little blonde boy sitting on the swings, alone.

Curiosity peaked, Hinata stood up and dusted herself before heading for the little boy. The other children gave the swings a wide berth for some reason, shooting disgruntled looks at the area.

Hinata frowned at the scorn in their faces. What was up with that?

"Hello," she chirped when she was a few feet away from the blonde boy. He looked up at her. Hinata noticed that he had really blue eyes and strange lines on his cheeks, like whiskers. He looked adorable, and she smiled at him openly. "My name's Hinata. Want to play?"

 **…**

Naruto was having a sad day again.

The matron at the orphanage kicked him out this morning and his tummy was growling because he hadn't even got breakfast yet. He stayed put outside the orphanage instead of wandering away because _jiji_ told him that he could get lost and bad people might take him. Like, the last time he went out on his own, some drunkards almost hit him with a beer bottle during his third birthday, but one of the ANBU nii-san scared them away.

The same ANBU nii-san found him outside the orphanage today and told him nicely that he was free to go out because he would follow Naruto around. Naruto wanted ramen from that stand with the nice man _jiji_ took him to, but he forgot his frog wallet and so ANBU nii-san snuck inside the orphanage to get it for him.

His ANBU nii-sans were cool. When Naruto becomes Hokage, he'll make sure they'll get com-pen-sa-tion. He didn't know what com-pen-sa-tion was, but since _Jiji_ said it was something nice, Naruto decided that all of his friends should have it.

Except… he didn't have any friends.

He had _Jiji_ and his ANBU nii-sans, and maybe the awesome guy in the ramen stand, but he had no friends. The orphanage kids didn't like him and the matrons always wanted him to leave them alone, so Naruto had no friends.

So when he saw a park on his way to get ramen, his eyes brightened at the kids playing there. He asked them if he could play with them too. He asked nicely, because _jiji_ said he should be polite even if people were mean, because they might become friends if they weren't mean anymore.

And maybe Naruto can treat them to ramen if they became good friends!

But they didn't want to play with him. They called him names and threw rocks at him and called him monster. He ran away quickly after that, because even if j _iji_ said he had to be polite to mean people, Naruto couldn't stand the aching hurt in his chest and the tears pooling in his eyes. And so Naruto just ran because he didn't want to say something mean in return because that would just make them meaner.

So he sat on a swing and ignored his rumbling tummy. Today was a sad day, and so he stared at the kids avoiding him and having fun on their own.

Then, he heard the patter of feet.

"Hello. My name's Hinata. Want to play?"

Naruto looked up from his swing in astonishment. There was a girl in front of him, with short hair and weird eyes and a pretty smile. He stared at her for a few seconds before realizing what she said.

"P-play?" He stuttered, eyes wide. "With me?"

He pointed a finger at his chest because maybe the nice girl was blind and she wasn't really talking about wanting to play with Naruto. All the other kids didn't want to play with him so maybe she didn't either.

"Yes!" she bounced, nodding her head. "What's your name?"

"Uzumaki…" he said slowly, flinching. "Naruto."

He waited for her to frown or get mad, because people in the market always got mad when he said his name. But she just smiled and nodded, and Naruto eased his shoulders.

"Naruto." she said, sitting in the dirt in front of him. "Like the fishcake?"

He flushed. "No! _Jiji_ says my name means _maesrom_!"

"Maelstrom." She corrected and Naruto blinked in surprise because that sounded the way _jiji_ said it.

"Yeah! That's it." He crowed before coming up blank. He scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh… what does it mean?"

"It means a powerful whirlpool." the pale-eyed girl said, grinning as she opened her arms grandly. "Like chaos, strong winds and rain and waters storming the sea."

"Haha! That sounds awesome!" Naruto said, jumping up his swing. "My name's sooo cool!"

"It still means fishcake." Hinata deadpanned and Naruto gave her a sour look, kicking his feet on the ground.

"And what does your name mean, huh? You er— Hinabi?" he guessed wildly, having forgotten her name already.

She burst out laughing and Naruto reddened in embarrassment.

"Hinata. My name is Hyuuga Hinata." she said, taking his hand to shake it. "And remember it, okay?"

"Hyuuga?" Naruto said in surprise, shoving his face near her. "Ah! You're one of those with the weird-eyed guys—er… uh… I mean—"

Hinata looked at him amusedly. This one doesn't have a filter.

Naruto was panicking. He didn't want to scare away the only person who seemed to like him other than Hokage- _ji_ , even if she was a girl and had weird eyes! She was nice and she didn't hit him or chase him away.

But instead of getting angry, she just smiled and ruffled his hair and Naruto felt relieved that she didn't hate him for saying something bad. Then he realized that she had been talking to him for _hours_ now and it was so long already but she hasn't been mad at him yet!

Maybe Hinata could be his friend?

"Um…" he hesitated, feeling a bout of shyness. "Do you like ramen?"

Hinata blinked at him but before she could open her mouth to reply, a growling sound echoed between them. Naruto flushed and covered his stomach.

"Oh. You're hungry, then?" Hinata asked, cocking her head.

Naruto flapped his arms and burst out in rambling. "Yeah! But that's why I wanna ask if you wanna get ramen 'cause I wanna be your friend and friends eat ramen together and I wanna—"

There were a lot of 'wanna' in his sentence.

Hinata tugged his sleeve to make him calm down. "My mama made me snacks. If you want, we can share."

Naruto beamed at her, blue eyes sparkling. Sharing snacks was a friendly thing to do, right? "Okay!"

Hinata smiled at his enthusiasm, but before she could drag him over to where Ko was, her caretaker had appeared before them with an impassive face.

"Ko-nii!" Hinata said happily, a little baffled at his blank expression. "This is Naruto-kun. He's my new friend."

The boy looked bewilderingly happy at being addressed as such and stared at the tall teenager standing in front of them. Hinata frowned at the suddenly cautious look on Naruto's face. It was like he was preparing to get hit.

"I see." Ko said politely. "Hinata-sama, I have the food Hiyori-sama had prepared for you. You may take them if you wish to have a break."

He handed her the brown paper bag and Hinata didn't miss the way Naruto flinched when her caretaker's arm passed him. At the sight of the cringing boy, Ko's eyes softened minutely.

"We will leave in half an hour, Hinata-sama. Until then, have fun with your friend." he said, heading back to the sitting area.

After Ko left, Hinata turned to Naruto with a faux smile on her face. "Ne, Naruto. What would you like to have first? Dango or mochi?"

They played by the swing set after eating, trying to see who could swing up the hardest. Hinata decided not to venture out of their little area, and it seems like Naruto didn't want to either, happily rambling about ramen and his _jiji_. Hinata smiled and nodded as he talked, but as time dragged forward, she was beginning to realize that there were something not right with the boisterous little boy.

She approached him out of curiosity at first (and she still wanted to know where his ginormous chakra came from) but as she got to know him, Hinata decided that Naruto was as warm as the chakra he exuded. He was a little loud and brash, but all little boys were like that anyway. He was very nice and likeable, and Hinata could not understand why Naruto was all alone in the first place.

The children's attitude, Ko-nii's almost hostile demeanor... Hinata didn't want to believe that a whole village could scorn an innocent child, but judging by how Naruto talked about how people didn't like him and would even throw cracked bottles in his direction like it was a normal thing, Hinata was beginning to believe that there was something more going on than just simple dislike towards an orphan.

Her head shot up and her eyes flickered to one of the trees, confusion etching her face.

"Hinata-chan?"

"It's nothing, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, turning back to the boy. "What were you saying about _moyashi_ in ramen?"

For a moment there, she thought she felt someone up in the branches…

 **…**

Half an hour came and went. Some older children had approached them to heckle Naruto, and Hinata proceeded to glare at them with as much Hyuuga haughtiness she could muster, overwhelming them with big words that made them fumble and leave. Naruto had looked at her with such awe that made Hinata painfully deduce that not many people stood up for the little blonde.

Ko appeared to gently remind them that it was time to leave. Hinata sighed and smiled at Naruto weakly, knowing that she couldn't promise to meet him again tomorrow. She could not circumvent her parents or her elders with the level of power that she had right now.

She'll certainly try though.

If only she could apparate again…

Of course, discounting the fact that if she _could_ apparate, she would go missing and her clan would undoubtedly freak out at her sudden absence.

There were downsides in living with ninja. The constant paranoia made them wary of any kind of new power. She doubted her clan would take the fact that she had magic well.

Naruto looked ready to tear up and cry, and he clutched her hand so tightly that Hinata feared it would break. Hinata fought the urge to wrap him up and smuggle him inside her house. Naruto was unhappy in the orphanage, but Hinata knew she couldn't take him with her and hide him in the compound. There was no way any Hyuuga could miss his chakra.

Naruto was now valiantly trying to hold back his sniffles and Hinata, having vaguely experienced her godson's teary fits, dug out a pouch from her pocket.

"Here you go, Naruto-kun. To remember me by." Hinata said. It was the best thing she could think of right now.

She dropped the pouch in his hands. It was a small silken bag, barely big enough to fill his palms, and contained star-shaped candies of different colors. Children like sweets and colorful things, right? Hinata lost count of how many times she appeased a crying Teddy with candy.

"It's _konpeito_." Hinata said, ruffling Naruto's fluffy hair. "Sugar candy. Very sweet and has a lot of flavors. Don't eat them all at once though, or you'll get an upset tummy."

"Oh." Naruto said in awe, eyes wet as he peeked at the tiny candies inside. He'd never had a present this pretty before. "What does this mean?"

He was looking at the front of the pouch, where neatly embroidered words were sewn in yellow thread.

"Oh, um… that's my name. Hyuuga Hinata." she said sheepishly. "That's my _konpeito_ pouch, see? My mother got it for me in a festival. But I'm giving it to you now." Then she brightened up. "This way, you won't ever forget my name or call me Hinabi again. And if you learn to read someday—"

She didn't get to say anything else because Naruto flung his arms around her in a tight hug, tears and snot getting all over her shoulder. Hinata blinked and hugged the sniffling boy to her. While one part of her tried to comfort her newfound friend, the other part of her brain dragged her attention to _something…_

Something on Naruto's stomach. Something _burning_ that felt suppressed—

"I won't lose it, Hinata-chan." Naruto blubbered, rubbing an arm over his eyes. "And… and I'll learn how to read so I can use big words too like you do, and I'll become really smart—"

"You don't have to promise that to me, you know." Hinata said, Ko's words echoing back to her. She shoved every other though away from her mind as she comforted the blonde boy. "Just be yourself and try to do your best with a big smile on your face, okay? Smile, Naruto-kun."

Instead of smiling, Naruto sniffled into another round of tears and Hinata sighed in quiet fondness as she petted the boy who reminded her painfully of who she was before.

* * *

 **…**

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, glared daggers at his long-time enemy, wishing it would spontaneously combust. Unfortunately, save for firing a _katon_ jutsu at it, there was no way for paperwork to be incinerated by the glare of an old man alone. So he sighed and began to fill up the forms, resigned to another day of singing monotonous documents.

An ANBU appeared inside his office, kneeling respectfully in front of his desk.

"Report, Sparrow." The Hokage said without looking up from his paperwork.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. At approximately seven this morning, Uzumaki Naruto was forcefully evicted from the orphanage. He remained outside for about an hour until I arrived."

"Again." Hiruzen sighed, internally enraged at how the village continued to demean Minato's son. He rubbed his face tiredly. "I'll be having… _words_ with the matron today. At least Naruto-kun didn't wander off this time. Continue."

"He decided to eat but stopped by a park to… urge the children to play with him, Hokage-sama." ANBU Sparrow said, a trace of frustration seeping in his voice.

Hiruzen winced, imagining Naruto's crestfallen expression. "And?"

"As expected, he ended up alone." ANBU Sparrow said. Then he paused in slight hesitation. "About fifteen minutes later, he was approached by a child with the intention to play."

"Oh?" The Hokage said in interest. Not one child approached Naruto before. His features, blue eyes and bright blonde hair, were too distinct that it was frustratingly easy for people to tell their children which little boy to avoid. "A child played with Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." ANBU Sparrow inclined his head. "It was the Hyuuga heiress."

Hiruzen paused in surprise. _Hyuuga?_

That particular clan had been grudgingly neutral towards Naruto. With their dojutsu, they could see through Naruto's chakra coils and determine the two chakra signatures flowing through the boy. They could see how the seal was suppressing the Kyuubi's corrosive chakra. The Hyuuga knew—more than any other clan did— that Naruto was the jailer and not the Kyuubi himself.

However, this didn't mean that they went out their way to be openly kind to Naruto. The Hyuuga had lost family members to the Kyuubi and as such, they found it hard to be around him when they knew he contained their family's murderer.

Hiruzen was saddened by this, but he understood grief. He was just glad that the Hyuuga had never been purposely cruel to Naruto, just mutinously indifferent at worst.

And there was the matter of the Hyuuga heiress. Prying information from Hiashi about his daughter was impossible, it was like forcing a clam to open with a twig. But his clansmen were not as secretive, and gossip about the little heiress's genius flowed through the village like running water. The Hyuuga elders were just as vocal, mentioning how the clan head's firstborn had activated her _dojutsu_ at ten months old, at how brilliantly focused and intuitive she was at her studies and training.

A Hyuuga version of Itachi-kun, some people jested.

It certainly had tongues wagging.

And so Hiruzen was naturally wary to hear that a child lauded for her genius had approached Naruto-kun. Several people were aware of Naruto's origins, and that included most of the clan heads.

But for the life of him, Hiruzen could not see how Hiashi could benefit having the Kyuubi jinchuuriki near his clan. Unlike their suspicions on the Sharingan, the Byakugan did not have any capabilities of mind control or hypnotism that could subdue a bijuu.

Nor was Hiashi the kind of man that would exploit Minato's son for his own benefit. The Hyuuga twins had been Minato's acquaintances at the Academy and they had respected the Yondaime as their Hokage when he had still been alive.

"Tell me about the Hyuuga child." Hiruzen ordered, taking a puff of smoke from his pipe.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. She appeared at the park with her handler, chunin Hyuuga Ko. She showed high levels of maturity for a child her age and was completely aware of her surroundings. She did not approach Uzumaki-san at first and was on her own before she noticed him by the swings."

"Hmm…" Hiruzen lifted his pipe in contemplation, tapping his gnarled fingers. "Your assessment, Sparrow?"

"Hokage-sama?"

"I'm asking what you think about the Hyuuga child, Shiranui-san."

ANBU Sparrow, also known as Shiranui Genma, paused in deliberate thought behind his mask. "She was not cruel, Hokage-sama."

And the Hokage knew how important that aspect was to Genma and his squad. He, Raidou, and Aoba had served as the Yondaime's private guard when he was alive. Along with Kakashi, the four of them were Naruto's constant watchers, aptly named by Naruto as his 'ANBU _nii-sans_ '. They cared for the boy and honored their continued service to the Yondaime by watching over his son.

"She was indulgent of Uzumaki-kun and did not seem to have any underhanded or malicious intentions." Genma continued. "She was patient with him and judging from her expression, she was smart enough to connect the children's dislike of Uzumaki-kun with her own caretaker's reaction to him." Then he paused, slowly choosing his next words. "She sensed me briefly while I was on duty."

Hiruzen raised his wrinkled brows. To pinpoint an ANBU in the shadows was a commendable feat.

The Hyuuga elders' bragging weren't just hot air, it seemed.

"A sensor, then." the Hokage said.

Genma nodded. "It would seem so, Hokage-sama. I believe it is the reason why she approached Naruto-kun as well."

"She sensed his chakra." Hiruzen hummed. After all, if she could briefly sense an ANBU who was suppressing his chakra, then Naruto's chakra would be like a honing beacon to her.

"Jiji!" The office door slammed open as a blonde blur darted inside.

The Hokage waved his apologetic secretary away and smiled at the bright-eyed boy who was almost vibrating with excitement.

"Hello, Naruto-kun."

"Jiji! Guess what! Guess what!" Naruto said eagerly, before spotting the kneeling, unmoving figure with them. "Ah! ANBU birdie nii-san!"

"It's Sparrow, Uzumaki-kun." Genma said in exasperation. "Sparrow."

It was humiliating being called 'birdie nii-san'. Kakashi, the bastard, never failed to call him birdie-kun because of that. Just because Uzumaki got his _inu_ title right…

"What brings you to my office, Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen said indulgently, although he already had an idea of what, or rather whom, had placed such a big smile on the boy's face.

And sure enough, Naruto went into a rambling speech about his Hinata-chan, about how she was so nice, so smart, and how she was his _very first friend ever_.

Hiruzen smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. It was refreshing to hear Naruto this vibrant again. His spirit hadn't been completely dampened, it seemed. Hiruzen had feared that the villagers' hate would slowly overwhelm the boy's sunny personality but clearly, Naruto continued to persevere. He reminded him of Kushina right now, both mother and son had the same excitable way of babbling when they were particularly happy.

He supposed he had to thank one little Hyuuga girl for this.

"—and she gave me this!" Naruto waved a small pouch in the air. "It's filled with candy with lotsa flavors."

Sure enough, Hiruzen could spot the small, star-shaped sweets inside the semi-transparent silk bag. "It looks very nice, Naruto. But don't eat them all at once." he chided gently, knowing Naruto's penchant for inhaling food.

"Yeah, Hinata-chan told me that too. I'm eating them one by one, see?" Naruto groused, taking one pink candy and exaggeratedly popping it in his mouth with deliberate slowness, much to the Hokage's amusement. "She said I might get a tummy ache and throw up."

"She must be very smart, then." Hiruzen said. "If she knew eating lots of food at once makes you sick."

"Yeah. She's really, really smart." Naruto pouted. "Ne, Jiji. Can you teach me readin' and ninja stuff? I need ta learn so I can be as good as Hinata-chan when I see her tomorrow!"

Hiruzen exchanged a look with his silent ANBU. Sparrow shook his head.

Well now. This was problematic.

"Of course, Naruto-kun. But it takes more than one day to learn how to read. It might take you months of studying."

"Yeah, but I'll do my best! Hinata-chan said that it doesn't matter if I'm not super smart, just that I do my best!" Naruto beamed.

Hiruzen softened at Naruto's words but couldn't find the heart to tell him that his new friend wouldn't be able to meet him tomorrow. Or at all, if Hiashi's shut door habits were still in place. There was a reason why Hiruzen was surprised to hear that the Hyuuga heiress, of all people, had approached Naruto. The Hyuuga were only second to the Uchiha in terms of keeping their clan issues as private as possible.

Their heiress was apparently considered a clan issue since no one outside of the Hyuuga has ever seen her.

Until now, that is.

Which was why Hiruzen doubted that Hiashi would allow his only child to play with Naruto _._ The clan head wouldn't keep his daughter away because of personal prejudice against Naruto; rather, it would be a political decision. Hiashi would not want to draw attention to his clan by letting his daughter associate with the village _jinchuuriki,_ a considerable asset of the village _._

Hiruzen rubbed his forehead. Damn politics.

"Naruto-kun—"

"Ne, _jiji_. I wanna give Hinata-chan a gift too. I didn't treat her to ramen today so maybe we could get the ramen in one of those box things and send it to her place!" Naruto said, digging out his frog wallet. "I've got money for it. Ah, but I dunno what kinda ramen she'd like—"

Hiruzen bit back a chuckle at the thought of sending takeout to the Hyuuga compound.

Still, as he listened to Naruto's happy rambling, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to ask Hiashi if Naruto could see his new friend sometimes. Away from prying eyes, if he wanted.

And maybe one of these days, Hiruzen might accept Takahiro's standing invitation for a drink at their compound. His old friend still owed him a few favors after all.

* * *

 **...**

 **OMAKE: Little Pranking Steps  
**

Hinata sulked as she faced the wall, counting the minutes until she was allowed to leave. Behind her, her parents conversed quietly, her mother knitting a scarf and her father reading through a scroll.

Hinata thumped her head on the wall. She knew she deserved the time-out, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Blinking, she slowly gathered chakra to her eyes—

"Do _not_ activate your Byakugan, Hinata." Her mother's voice was stern. "Or it's another hour of punishment."

Hinata scowled at the wall and endured the indignity.

It was her fault anyway. Trying to sneak around a clan that could see through _everything_ was a stupid plan, now that she thought about it. And since she was just three and her parents' only child to boot, it was logical that she had eyes trailed on her every movement.

The downside of having parents was the constant scrutiny. The Dursleys certainly didn't care where she disappeared to. She bet they even hoped that she rammed her head on a wall and died.

"Careful, Hinata. I can sense your killing intent." Hiashi said mildly, amused at his daughter's pitiful attempt to show them her displeasure.

Hinata turned her head slightly to pout at him. Her father caught her in about five minutes of leaving the house. The only reason he didn't snag her earlier was because he was mildly curious on her destination.

She didn't _really_ have a place in mind, she just wanted to explore.

"I don't even know where you found that bag of itching powder." Her mother said in exasperation.

Right. And she may have wanted to prank an elder or two. They deserved it anyway, especially that old hag Masaki. Who was she to reprimand her mother on how to raise her?

And Hinata might have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for her meddling father.

She sighed. Oh well.

Her marauder years had to wait until she grew older.

In the meantime, she'll try to get sneakier so she won't get another round of time-out.

* * *

 **…**

 **A/N:** So, yeah. Naruto. In canon, Hinata saw Naruto at three years old as well, although she had no reason to go near him. Hyuuga Ko is also a canon character, and he was Hinata's caretaker.

So, my sister asked me; why doesn't Hinarry get help or more power from Death? Like, she can't do magic, why not ask Death to give it to her? Some of you guys might be wondering the same thing. And my explanation is this; Death's first reason for reincarnating Hinarry was for her not to gain power but to live again, and not just in a literal sense. And Hinarry herself is not aiming for more power right now; she just want to experience living. She does not have a goal for gaining a lot of power and doesn't want to think that she is technically a hax character with the ultimate mod in her possession, which is Death (sorry for the game ref, been playing Skyrim).

And so, she's putting limitations on herself. She wants to blend in, be a part of her family, experience being a kid again. She wants to be _human_. She want to do it on her own pace because technically, there's no reason for her to go too fast. Yet. But she is curious and will grow stronger.

 **Read and review.**

Memory out.


	5. The Caged Bird Seal (I)

**A/N: Hi guys. I updated this a little later than I would like to because I took a peek at Fairy Tail and got all pissed at the ending. So I visited forums and read fanfiction to get rid of the bad images in my mind. *sigh*** ** **I mean, I've been reading it since 2010 and i** t's just bad, man. It's Bleach all over again. At least One Piece never lets me down.**

 **Anyway, I edited a few things from last chapter in order for this to make sense. Feel free to point out inconsistencies and I'll get back to it.**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. Thank you.

 **CHAPTER FIVE- The Caged Bird Seal (I)**

* * *

 **...**

A flurry of strikes echoed through the training ground as the Hyuuga clan head oversaw his daughter's training, his Byakugan activated to spot inconsistencies.

Hinata directed her assaults at the dummy's vital areas, putting as much force as her palms and fists could manage. Hiashi nodded in approval at the way his daughter was close to perfecting her basic kata exercises. Her execution was slightly sloppy, as expected in a child, but her speed and consistency made up for it.

"Hinata. Widen your stance." Hiashi said, standing behind his daughter and sweeping a leg lightly underneath her feet. She went down with a pained yelp. "Stand narrowly and you destabilize your legs and shoulders. Break the habit of pushing your feet together or else you will not be able to progress."

Hinata nodded, feeling the sweat dotting her brows. She stood up and assumed her stance again, ignoring her sore knees and widening the distance between her feet.

This was the norm for her every morning. Her father trained her himself, and Hinata admitted that if felt rewarding to pace and train her body this way despite the numerous bruises that bloomed all over her limbs every week.

Her stamina was abysmal but training made her a little more resilient every passing day. And at least she didn't feel like a giant walking wound anymore like she did when she first started. It now felt good to run and stretch her bones and feel the ache in her muscles.

She felt _alive._

It was exhilarating.

Her tiny body flowed easily. Switching from stance to stance was automatic for her limbs, like they instinctively knew when to tense and unwind. She could feel adrenaline course through her veins, making everything sharper, _easier_. She moved and danced and weaved around the training ground, urging her muscles to go _faster._

As Harry she never really got to be formally trained in fighting. Her usual strategy during fights with Voldemort was 'hit everything you can with magic and run if you can't'. None of the so-called adult wizards around them ever realized that ' _oh, we're sending teenagers to kill a fully-fledged Dark Lord so we should train them, you know?_ '. Dumbledore had been too concerned about preserving what was left of her childhood, which was a completely hopeless pursuit considering. Even Moody, who was the most brutal Auror during his time, didn't even pause to think that they needed more constant vigilance.

Sure, she had been brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts. But that was more out of sheer magical power than mastery. She didn't have the experience or the formal combat training to properly say that she could fight in a physical match.

During her wandering days after the wizarding war, she never got near formal combat training either. Oh, she ran and stretched and hit things that were out to kill her and her reflexes had been excellent, but she never pushed her body to the limits. She relied too much on her magic to get her out of tight spots.

Wizards were generally lazy, and Harry had been no exception. It was hard not to be if magic did all the work for you.

A quick _expelliarmus_ and an apparition usually got her out of most stitches.

 ** _'_** ** _And let's not forget all those times I had to pull you out of a situation where your magic was sealed and you had to cry for mummy. Thank me, Mistress. I need praise.'_**

Hinata's kick faltered and she stubbed her toe on the wooden dummy.

 _'_ _Fuck!'_

Thank Merlin she didn't say it out loud. But she lost her momentum and gritted her teeth, fully aware of her father frowning in the background.

 ** _'_** ** _Language young lady.'_** Death mocked in her mind. **_'Those words are not befitting of a girl your station.'_**

Hinata bit her tongue and thought cheerfully. _'Fuck. You. And stop reading my mind!'_

 ** _'_** ** _But Mistress, I am in your mind. It's very hard not to.'_** Death pointed out. **_'And I still haven't gotten my thanks for saving you thousands of times.'_**

 _'_ _Merlin, it's one of those days, then?'_ Hinata thought exasperatedly, pretending to look at the wooden dummy in focus. She could feel her father's stare boring behind her head. _'Thank you Death. A million times over.'_

 ** _'_** ** _You're very welcome.'_** Death replied genially. **_'And on another note, a little old lady just died in the nursing home. Duty calls, Mistress. I shall take my leave.'_**

 _'_ _You have reaper servants who ferry the dead for you.'_ Hinata sighed as the entity left her head without so much as a goodbye.

Death was very bi-polar these days. Hinata was now sure that absorbing the Shinigami really messed up her longest companion's head. He was either very cheerful (reminding her of her days as a fed-up Harry) or very sadistically amused, almost dark.

Death also left her alone often, citing reaping souls as an excuse. The entity decided that since his Mistress was old enough not to accidentally kill herself, he would take a more active role as the actual God of Death in this world. And while Hinata felt lonely at his distance, felt rattled at the aloofness of the formerly clingy god, she was sure that Death would never abandon her. If only because the entity promised to annoy her until the end of time. They still had their mind link, and Hinata was content to have that comfort.

Their relationship was strange, but it worked.

The sound of snapping fingers jolted her from her thoughts. Her father was looking at her with silent consternation, eyes narrowed. She flushed and ducked her head, a wave of embarrassment coursing through her.

"Hinata. You were drifting off again." Hiashi said, looking at his blank-eyed daughter closely. She did this sometimes; staring at empty spaces, seemingly lost inside her head.

"Hai. Sorry, tou-sama." Hinata bowed.

"You are progressing admirably, daughter. But you have to be alert at all times. Now, repeat the second kata. And mind your feet." Hiashi ordered.

She nodded and focused on the dummy. Having her father around her training made her more determined.

Hiashi was a stern father but even a sterner teacher. He demanded progress and perfection and adapted a straightforward, no-nonsense attitude the moment he opened his mouth to teach her. But despite his almost cold demeanor during her training, he was surprisingly gentle with her regimen, making sure that she completely understood the basics before letting her execute it.

Her father's rare approving smiles almost made up for the fact that they were constantly watched.

Hinata glanced at a boulder a few meters away where she was sure one of her clansmen was snooping around. She huffed and tried to ignore the interloper.

Behind her, Hiashi quirked his mouth at the scowl on his daughter's face.

Sensor indeed.

Even without the Byakugan, Hinata could sense people. Hidden in the trees, lurking just behind the walls, and of course the blatant observation of an elder every week. They were all monitoring her progress, curious about his so-called genius heiress. Hiashi never mentioned them to his daughter even though she knew they were there and was visibly irked at their presence.

It would be a good observational lesson for her. Just to counter her habit of spacing out.

A yelp from the boulder made him frown and dart sharp eyes at his daughter. It seems Hinata had gotten fed up with her watcher and had flicked her unique stinging jutsu at Daiki.

Just last month, the clan had a field day when a few of them had been assaulted with painful stings, angry welts appearing on their skins like they had been stung by wasps. Hiashi thought it was too coincidental that Hinata was in the vicinity every time a stinging occurred and had confronted his daughter after one of Hiyori's vases broke into pieces a few feet away from her. Hinata had mumbled something about 'magic' and 'practicing' and so he had no choice but to sit her down and reprimand her for using her 'magical' stinging jutsu.

He was still not sure how she did it, but he made her stop immediately.

The furor had died down despite the 'wasps' not being caught. After all, only the more annoying elders had been stung.

"Hinata," Hiashi said as Daiki began to look for whatever bug that stung him. "What did I tell you about using that jutsu?"

"Not to," Hinata said with an innocent face. "But he was annoying."

"And yet, I told you not to. If you are caught in any way, there will be retribution." Hiashi frowned as Hinata lowered her eyes to the ground. He could tell she wasn't sorry though. Sighing, he wondered why the gods decided to give him such a stubborn, wily daughter. "Just return to your katas."

* * *

 **…**

"Hinata, enough." His daughter paused and looked at him, breathing tiredly. "That's it for your practice. Now ran a lap around the compound. You don't need to beat your time. Just treat this as your last exercise for the day."

She nodded, bowing at her father before sprinting away.

Hiashi gestured to the servants to arrange the training ground back to normal, waiting for his three-year old to return from her run.

It had been two years since Hinata activated her Byakugan. A fruitful two years since then and his heiress had shown far more promise than ever. He and his wife decided to tutor her themselves since Hiyori had little to do aside from governing the household and Hiashi wanted to monitor Hinata's progress himself. Their daughter showed much eagerness to learn and had the curiosity of an inquisitive kitten, getting her tiny fingers into anything and everything she could learn.

After Hinata's first birthday, Hiashi appointed Ko, one of the main house members, to instruct Hinata with basic shinobi lesson. It took only three days for the girl to memorize every shinobi hand sign. Her fingers were too little to properly form each symbol but Hinata was still able to distinguish each one perfectly.

Hiyori had then started her on with numbers, reading and writing. It took a day for Hiyori to realize that their daughter had no problem grasping numbers at all, and so she dedicated her time for Hinata to learn reading and writing instead.

Hiashi had been surprised but relieved to know that his daughter found difficulty in writing basic hiragana and katakana. The fact that his daughter, who was two at that time, finally found something that truly stumped her was a little relieving.

Hinata's writing progress continued to be slow for weeks, which made them curious as to what was taking her so long to copy down such basic writing exercises. Imagine their surprise when they realized that Hinata was not simply trying to mimic what was printed on her paper but was genuinely trying to figure out the meaning behind every character.

Hiyori had apparently given their daughter a children's writing manual and had assumed that the two-year old would just copy it down to familiarize herself with writing. They didn't expect her to actually learn the context, meaning and pronunciation of the words without any help from them.

She had taken one look at a problem and decided to solve it the other way around. Hiashi still wondered what was going on his daughter's head sometimes.

Hinata still tended to mix her characters and her writing was like wobbly scribbles at three, but she was absorbing the material at an astonishing pace now that she knew the sounds behind the words. Hiyori suggested on starting her with kanji and calligraphy already.

Hiashi sighed, staring at the battered wooden dummy his daughter had been hitting.

Hinata was not like any other children he had come across.

She hadn't needed their help in doing most of her firsts. Her first walk, her first words, and unlocking her chakra and Byakugan wasn't accomplished with his or his wife's aid. According to Fugaku's subtle bragging, his eldest son had been the same, and Uchiha Itachi was even a little more advanced than Hinata had been supposedly.

Hiashi had no idea how Fugaku adjusted to the idea of a genius child. It was like walking a thin line between treating Hinata as an adult while remembering that she wasn't even above his knee yet.

Then again, Fugaku didn't quite adjust as much as treating his own son as a war machine and throwing him at the first line of fire.

Which he was definitely _not_ doing to his own daughter.

"Tou-sama," Hinata called as she rounded the corner, short hair disheveled. Sweat was beading on her forehead and she seemed to struggle to catch her breath. "I'm done with my run."

"Good." Hiashi nodded. "Go have breakfast with your mother. I will join you momentarily after speaking to your grandfather."

He watched as his daughter nodded respectfully and made her way inside the compound, his chest stirring with nostalgic sadness.

His daughter was growing up, whether he liked it or not.

And it was time to impart to her one of the more painful realities of being a Hyuuga.

* * *

 **…**

Hiyori hid her distress with a smile as her daughter trudged inside the house tiredly. She had first protested her husband's idea of training Hinata physically at such a young age but her daughter seemed to revel in the attention Hiashi gave her and didn't mind the wounds she got from being knocked around.

"Honestly, with the way you tumble around the training field, Hinata-chan. My child is so unfeminine." Hiyori said with a sigh as she dabbed medical cream on her daughter's blooming bruises.

"I can be cute." Hinata said, pressing gauze on a particularly ugly welt on her knee. She looked at her reflection on the mirror and thought of cute things. She was as small as a crup and her hair was like a fluffy pygmy puff. Crups and pygmy puffs were cute, right?

"Not with the way you roll around in the ground, you won't." Hiyori said, dabbing alcohol at a slightly bleeding scratch on her arm.

Time lapsed into comfortable silence. Then Hinata looked at her mother tentatively. "May I see Naruto-kun today?" she asked. Then she hissed when her mother pressed the alcohol swab hard on her open wound.

"Ask your father, Hinata." Her mother said lightly, throwing the bloodied cotton swab away.

"Oh. Alright."

"Although you may want to cut your playtime short today." Hiyori said as she began to collect the medical supplies. She did not meet her daughter's eyes. "The clan will undergo a ceremony this afternoon. You are required to attend. Your father shall explain."

The reincarnated girl nodded as her mother left, resigned at her hasty departure.

Her mother did not like Naruto much.

But at least Hinata got to check up on the little blonde sunshine once a week, regardless of her mother's feelings on the matter.

A few days after she and Ko first met Naruto, Hinata felt a large, unknown chakra signature enter the Hyuuga compound. She was later informed that the Hokage had visited her grandfather for some reason. From her father's words, Hinata deduced that the two old men were war buddies.

She was surprised when her grandfather called for her the next day, informing her that she was allowed to see her new friend so as long as they remained supervised and isolated in one of the rooms inside Hokage tower. Hinata found the arrangement peculiar but she had been too distracted with meeting up with a happy Naruto to think it through.

At first, she didn't think that there was a connection between her meeting with Naruto and the Hokage's visit. But when Naruto began to talk about his Hokage- _jiji_ , Hinata deduced that it was too much of a coincidence that the Hokage would visit her family right after she befriended Naruto. It was also strange that an orphan such as Naruto could call the most powerful figure in the village such a casual term as _jiji,_ and judging from the stories he told her, the little blonde was quite close to the Hokage _._ Close enough to allow them the use of a room inside Hokage tower to play in.

She concluded that it was the Hokage who arranged for Naruto to meet up and play with her. The _why_ remained unsolved.

There was something weird going on…

"I hate meddling old men." Hinata muttered, getting up from the tatami mat. "My whole life was an old man's joke."

It left a bad taste in her mouth. An orphan hated by his people for some reason and was under the banner of a powerful old man. Naruto was turning out to have a lot of similarities with Harry's child self than Hinata was comfortable with.

She just hoped that the Hokage was less of a morally skewed bastard than Dumbledore had been.

* * *

 **…**

"No, Naruto-kun." Hinata said patiently, guiding his hand on the paper. "See here? That little curve you make at the bottom turns it into the ' _me_ ' character. If you write it straighter it should turn it into the correct one, ' _na_ '."

"But Hinata-chan!" Naruto protested, scratching the back of his head with his pencil. "They look the same, dattebayo!"

Hinata twitched at the word tick. There was a cough at the side and she sent a dry look at the masked man assigned to watch her and Naruto for the day.

"I'm glad you find this funny, ANBU-san."

The bird-masked shinobi shrugged unrepentantly and melted back to the shadows.

Hinata turned back to a pouting Naruto. She had this argument with him a thousand times already so she just smiled and patted his head. "The other words I made you write were also hard. But you got them correctly already, right?"

"Yeah," Naruto grumbled, looking at his worksheet. "Like the ' _tsu_ ' and ' _shi_ ', and the ' _sa_ ' and ' _chi_ '. But," he moaned, flopping down on the floor. "It's haaaard. They all look the saaaaame."

Hinata chuckled, watching her would-be student fondly. Honestly, she missed this kind of thing. Teaching had been a joy for her in her past life ever since Hermione persuaded her into tutoring the D.A. After the war, she gained an appreciation for knowledge to stave of boredom and it soon evolved into imparting it to students, both to muggle and magical alike. Although she could hardly recall their faces now, the satisfaction of influencing pupils even just by a little bit was still fresh in her mind.

For some reason however, she got roped into teaching Naruto ever since the blonde saw her worksheets inside her backpack. She had been hesitant at first, confused at how eagerly he pleaded, but after learning about how he never had anyone teach him anything before and how the matrons would bar him from attending even the simplest math lessons they gave all the orphans, Hinata became determined to teach him herself. He found it a little difficult to concentrate but he was eager to learn, and there was no better student than one who strived hard.

"Alright then, Naruto-kun. If it's a little too hard for you, you can go back to some stroking drills here." Hinata said, pulling out another worksheet, this one much simpler.

The blonde happily pulled the paper to him before pausing to stare at her. "Ne, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blinked. "Yes, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde nudged the worksheet in front of her curiously. "Why does your paper look weird? More inky."

"Oh. This is kanji." Hinata said. "Kanji is harder than hiragana and katakana. I'm just starting on it today."

"Harder?" Naruto blanched.

She laughed at the look on his face. "Yes, Naruto-kun. But kanji is easier to write and understand once mastered."

"How is _that_ easier to write?" Naruto said dramatically, pointing an accusing finger at the complicated worksheet.

"It just is." Hinata said, knowing that it would just devolve into a much harder explanation if she elaborated. "You'll see how it is once you finish your hiragana."

The blonde grumbled, shooting dirty looks at her worksheet once in a while. She shook her head in amusement and went back to her paper.

Giving out a happy sigh, Hinata traced the different complex symbols in front of her. The mere sight of it made her hum in anticipation.

When she had been two, she spied her father studying an odd-looking scroll with beautiful-looking characters flowing through the paper. Hinata had been awed at that time and tried to touch it. Her father had snagged her hand at the last second and harshly berated her for almost touching what she now knew was an explosive tag.

Her father's words had been unforgiving, scolding her about possibly blowing her arm off, but what really registered in her mind was that the simple piece of paper sitting on her father's desk had the capability of exploding within a radius of a few feet.

Chakra could be incorporated with ink. And paper.

Like runes.

Sweet, sweet runes. The raw lifeblood of her magic.

In Hinata's humble opinion, runes had been undervalued by the Wizarding World, rarely used or even seen. But then again, it had been an obscure art that would take further studies to pursue, and even Hogwarts only offered the introductory lessons for Ancient Runes. But back when wizards didn't have wands or any kind of focus for their magic, they used symbols of power.

It was Bill who awakened her curiosity on runes, telling her stories of his tomb raiding expeditions for Gringotts, of the ancient signs the Egyptians used to etch on their pyramids. Magical seals that took years of unravelling, embedded codes that contained all kinds of nasty curses, cyphers that summoned the power of their ancient gods.

It fascinated her, how mere ink, paper and a few strokes of a hand could power shields and fuel curses that could last a thousand years. The sheer versatility of runes was vast, and the subject itself was grueling to learn. She had delved into the study after Bill had left him his notes in his will, and her appreciation for the art still continued to this day.

And so, she was beside herself when she realized that runes had a chakra equivalent in this world.

Fuuinjutsu. The art of sealing.

Unfortunately, Hinata's only knowledge of fuuinjutsu came from her father, who told her in a few short words that it existed, was dangerous, and very rare. Just like runes, it seemed that fuuinjutsu wasn't very used often. But she knew where to start, at least.

Writing.

All runes were written, and so was fuuinjutsu.

If runes had the Futhark alphabet, fuuinjutsu must have its own set of character system. Judging from the quick glimpse she had of her father's explosive tag, she suspected that it had been written in kanji.

And so she decided to focus on familiarizing herself with the Japanese language, hoping that it would pay off once she was old enough to study fuuinjutsu. But speaking a language and writing it down were two very different things. Speaking Japanese was simple once learned, but writing was a whole other game. Kanji had more than two-thousand different characters to memorize, and that was where Hinata's troubles began. It was difficult to master katakana and hiragana already, and kanji was the most complex of the three. It was even made more difficult with the fact that even the tiniest stroke of her writing could make a big difference in the meaning of a character. Hinata's fingers continuously ached from all the writing she did.

Worse, her chicken scratch of a penmanship still followed her into this life. But if she ever wanted to learn fuuijutsu like she learned runes, Hinata was going to rub her hand raw against paper and break her hand doing calligraphy if that was the last thing she did.

"Merlin, Futhark didn't give me this much trouble." Hinata muttered sourly, staring at her worksheet. "Futhark gave me twenty-four letters and I was happy with twenty-four. Kanji just _had_ to give me two-thousand—"

"Done!" Naruto burst out happily, waving his paper around and doing a little jig at his accomplishment.

"That was fast." Hinata smiled at the blonde, irritation forgotten for a moment. "Let's see, Naruto-kun."

Naruto shoved the paper to his friend eagerly, bright blue eyes expectant. Hinata was silent for a moment, before she looked up from his worksheet and beamed at him.

"Very good, Naruto-kun." she praised with a smile. "Your handwriting is better than mine, you know. If you memorize the characters faster, your writing will get better than mine soon."

"Eehhhh?" Naruto said, rocking back and forth. It felt nice to know that he did good, but he didn't want Hinata-chan to feel bad for doing better than her! "But Hinata-chan's the best! I wouldn't learn it without you!"

"Mmm… But you're doing great. Your strokes are fluid and your characters are neat." Hinata said, bonking his head lightly. "You did good, Naruto-kun. Better than I did when I first started. Take credit when credit is due."

"Uh… what does that mean?" Naruto said slowly, cheeks puffing.

"It means, when someone praises you for doing a good job on something you worked hard on, you should feel proud of yourself." she said. She drew a star on top of his paper, putting a smiley face on it. "Here you go, Naruto-kun. Full marks again."

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered, bouncing around her. "Awesome! Hinata-chan, I wanna show this too jiji! We can see him this afternoon! You've never seen him before. He treats me to ramen a lot, if you come he might treat you too, 'ttebayo!"

"Ahh…" Hinata blinked, glancing at Ko as he appeared by the door. It was time for her to go, apparently. "I can't Naruto-kun. I'm sorry. My parents and I have something to do this afternoon. For the clan."

"Oh." Naruto wilted visibly. Then he brightened. "But I can still show this to jiji, right?"

"Of course." Hinata said, ruffling his hair and handing him a rice cracker. "And you can tell me all about what he thinks about it afterwards."

Naruto hugged her fleetingly, jamming the rice cracker in his mouth as he bounced outside the room. The masked shinobi followed after the cheerful blonde, bowing at Hinata and Ko before leaving.

"Hinata-sama." Ko tapped her shoulder. "It is time for us to leave. Your parents want you in the compound within an hour."

"Yes. Of course." Hinata said absently. She gathered the sheets of paper to her and stuffed them into her bag. "Ne, Ko? What do you know about seals?"

The young man paused, giving her a wide-eyed look. "Seals, Hinata-sama?"

"Mmm… I've been practicing with my writing, you see. And well…" Hinata shrugged. "Never mind. Tou-sama won't allow me to anyway. Best wait until I get my bloody height back. And once my handwriting looks readable at least…"

She walked out of the room after her mutterings, not noticing that her caretaker had a disturbed look on his face.

* * *

 **...**

 **A/N:** This got too long y'all, so I hacked up the chapter in two. The next chapter follows the events of this one immediately and I'll be posting it, say in five days.

So yes, seals. Something Hinata is familiar with from the wizarding world, so she latches on to it out of curiosity. Her training is done out of duty and also curiosity, having never experienced physical conditioning before. And more Naruto, yay. Although it isn't going to be all sunshine and butterflies.

I've got a new story in the works, a fem!Harry/Hashirama fic, because Hashirama needs some love. Shall be posting the second chapter of that story right after this.

 **Read and review.**

Memory out.


	6. The Caged Bird Seal (II)

**A/N: Hello, people. New chapter for you. Now I know I've posted this late, but I've got an explanation written down. Again, criticism is welcome, and if you spot any errors, feel free to point it out.  
**

 **So this follows the last chapter. I just split it in two because of the size. A lot of you theorized Hinata's reaction on the caged bird seal, and now you've got front row seats to it today. So buckle up.  
**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. Thank you.

 **CHAPTER SIX- The Caged Bird Seal (II)**

* * *

 **...**

Hinata breathed in and out, centering her body and attempting to control her chakra into a regular rhythm. She stared at her mother's empty garden, the silence almost making her ears ring.

She was alone again. After returning back to the compound from meeting with Naruto, she was swept into a bath by her mother, stuffed into heavy training clothes, and then ushered outside their wooden porch to wait. Wait for _what,_ she had no idea, and she had been sitting in idle boredom for an hour already.

So she decided to make use of her free time to experiment with her chakra.

Hinata straightened her back, smoothing her lap as she took another breath.

While she had not gained any fighting discipline during her past life as Harry, she did have some knowledge on chakra. Both Mahoutokoro and Ugadou had offered teachings on metaphysical energies, encouraging students to broaden their horizons and not to limit themselves to magic only.

Hinata was unsure if wizarding lessons on chakra could be applied to the chakra that existed in this world, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

Her grandfather described chakra as _powerful._ While it was a broad definition, it certainly was true. But Hinata also knew that there was more to it than that. There was more to chakra than just making it flow through her hands and sticking it on walls.

Chakra is the result of both spiritual and physical energy forming together in harmony. Unlike magic which could only be possessed through lineage (even muggleborns were proven to be descended from squibs), chakra was not as selective because it existed everywhere. It was present in the surroundings and fueled every conscious being.

Or at least, that was what the wizard monk Harry studied under said.

 _'_ _Chakra, or living energy, flows through the seven centers of our body, pure and unsullied. However, these energies get blocked by emotional turmoil and in turn, unbalances our chakra. In order to regain harmony, one must learn to overcome these turmoil and open the chakra pathways.'_

Hinata closed her eyes and eased her shoulders. If she remembered it correctly, the first pathway was the earth chakra, centered at the base of the spine. She focused her mind on her coils—

 ** _'_** ** _Mistress.'_**

Hinata was jarred out of her seated stance, unnerved at the loud, echoing voice inside her mind.

 _'_ _Death?'_ Hinata blinked. Two visits in a day from her companion. That was odd.

 ** _'_** ** _Mistress.'_** The entity repeated, coalescing in back of her mind with a flurry of shadows. **_'You are attempting to open your chakra pathways.'_**

Hinata blinked in confusion, pale eyes glassy. _'Yes? I remember my lessons on chakra by guru Pathik… I think was his name? I just thought of trying—'_

 ** _'_** ** _Do not awaken your pathways, Mistress.'_** Death intoned, a whisper of warning in his voice. **_'The process you are attempting is dangerous and irreversible. Without supervision you will inflict permanent damage on your body and coils.'_**

Hinata stiffened, a thrill of caution flickering through her spine. _'Oh. I didn't know it was that risky.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Few people do.'_** Death hummed. **_'There is no turning back once an attempt is made to open the chakra pathways. It is a draining pursuit that cripples inexperienced fools.'_**

Hinata cringed at the subtle reprimand in Death's voice. _'So it's not possible for me then? I guess the magical world's beliefs on chakra is obsolete here.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Now when did I say that?'_** Death sounded amused. **_'It is very possible for you to open your chakra pathways, just that it is very difficult to do so. None have attempted this procedure ever since the time of the Sage.'_**

 _'_ _Time of who?'_ Hinata thought, prodding Death as she tried to enter her mindscape. She frowned when a rush of dizziness assaulted her head. _'Death. What? I can't enter my mindscape.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Another dilemma.'_** Death chuckled. **_'You are too young to properly form your mental world. No, mistress.'_** Was the reprimand when Hinata made to protest. **_'Yes, your mind is more than established. But I am referring to your physical state. Your brain has yet to develop fully, as such you experience discomfort when you try to force your way inside your mind.'_**

 _'_ _Ah…'_ Hinata thought with another bout of disappointment. _'Well, bugger. Too young for everything, huh?'_

 ** _'_** ** _The process of opening your chakra pathways can be done, if you wish. You need to perfect your meditative exercises however, as well as your physical form. And since the process is risky, a mentor is required when undergoing the process.'_**

 _'_ _Mentor?'_

 ** _'_** ** _Me.'_** Death said, and Hinata could almost see the faint smile on the entity's face. **_'I shall be your guide if you allow it.'_**

 _'_ _Oh.'_ Hinata thought, perturbed. _'If it's alright with you, I'd be grateful…'_

 ** _'_** ** _Of course, Mistress. As always, I am in your service.'_**

Hinata blinked at that before shaking her head. It seemed that she was talking more to the Shinigami than her old friend this time. She felt Death's presence leave her mind and sighed, chastising herself for delving into unknown chakra procedures without proper knowledge. She only had theoretical lessons in Ugadou after all, never practical—

A small movement to her left caught her eye and she turned her head just in time to see one of her mother's hydrangeas quiver.

"Hello," Hinata called at the bush. It rustled and she could almost feel the slight hesitance coming from it. She laughed and cupped her hands to call out. "I won't bite."

That seemed to convince the intruder of her sincerity and the bush rustled again, revealing the head of a… child. Long brown hair, classic Hyuuga eyes, and adorable cheeks that Hinata was itching to pinch. Probably a little older than her.

There was just one thing that confused her.

Boy or girl?

The kid was strikingly pretty, possessing the classical highborn features of their clan. Unfortunately, those delicate cheekbones and long lashes made it difficult for Hinata to deduce the child's gender.

The unknown Hyuuga child got off the bush and tried to brush leaves off his (her?) brown hakama, ears red. "My apologies. I didn't mean to intrude."

Ah. ' _Boku_ '. A boy then. A very pretty boy, though.

Hinata smiled at his politeness. Even the little kids in her clan were not exempt from the Hyuuga stoicism it seems. "It's alright. What were you doing, hiding in the bush?"

"I wanted to see the flowers." The boy said with a timid smile on his face. Androgynous features aside, his face looked familiar somehow… "Mother loves flowers."

"Oh? So does mine. This is her garden." Hinata said as he approached her. She patted the wooden floor beside her in invitation. "But you know the cold season is starting already, right? There aren't any flowers. Everything's wilted right now."

It had snowed right after her morning practice with her father. The weather had chilled and the air was heavy, promising a biting winter in the next few weeks. Naruto had been pretty excited with the promise of snow.

"Mn." The Hyuuga boy nodded as he sat, pale eyes beaming at her. "I had a snowball fight with tou-san this morning. I hit him twice!"

"That sounds like fun." Hinata said, lips twitching as she tried to imagine her own dignified father flinging snowballs at her. "My name is Hinata, by the way. What's yours?"

The brown-haired boy looked at her shyly. "It's—"

"Neji." A voice intoned and Hinata turned to see her father standing behind them…

Only it wasn't exactly him. Her father never wore a forehead protector on his head, so that could only mean—

"Uncle Hizashi." Hinata said, surprised. And a little delighted. She hadn't seen her uncle since her first clan meeting as a baby. She stood up and bowed at his direction. "Hello."

A flash of surprise enter his eyes. Then he nodded in acknowledgment. "Hinata-sama."

She frowned at the formality but before she could open her mouth, her little intruder smiled at her uncle. "Father."

Hinata made a surprised noise and gaped at the brown-haired boy. "Oh. You're uncle Hizashi's son?"

That was why he looked familiar. He was practically a child version of their fathers.

And that meant she had a cousin. A first cousin even.

She liked him loads more than Dudley already.

"Yes," Hizashi said, placing an arm on Neji's shoulder. "Hinata-sama, this is my son, Neji. Neji-kun, this is your uncle Hiashi's daughter and the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, Hinata-sama. You may address her as Hinata-hime."

Hinata grimaced as Neji's eyes widened at her excitedly. "Hime? You're a princess? Uwa… you're a really pretty one!"

Hinata stared, fighting the urge to say that he was actually prettier than her and was more suited to be called a princess. Instead, "Just call me Hinata please. Or Hinata-chan. You too, uncle."

Her uncle's face was undecipherable for a moment before his mouth softened into a smile. "Very well, Hinata-chan."

"But I want to call you Hinata-hime," Neji said, brows furrowed.

"You don't have to call me that." Hinata said, cocking her head at him. Only Ko called her hime, and that was only because she couldn't make him stop. She may be resigned at being female in this world but since she was actually a grown-ass wizard, she wasn't fond of girly nicknames. "We're family. Just call me Hinata."

"I can't do that." Her cousin said, frowning and looking so very much like a stern, mini-version of their fathers.

The reincarnated girl sighed, knowing that her family was big on honorifics. Just like how purebloods just loved to tack on the title 'Lord' or 'Lady' at anyone with a pedigree and a mountain of gold. "But you're my cousin. We don't need to be formal."

"But…" Neji frowned, glancing at his silent father before turning back to her. "Ne, hime. How old are you?"

"Don't call me hime. Just Hinata." she said again exasperatedly. "Hi-na-ta. And I'm three."

Neji smiled and nodded. "Great! I'm four, so I'm older. Since we're cousins, you can call me nii-san."

"Er… alright?" Hinata blinked, perturbed at the sudden change in topic. But why not. Even a hundred year-old bloke needed siblings. And he was offering, so… "Neji-nii then."

"Good." Neji said. He looked pleased. "But I still want to call you hime. Hime."

She grumbled in despair, shooting a dirty look at her amused-looking uncle.

* * *

 **…**

Hinata bowed at her newly-found cousin, mouth set in a flat frown as they stood facing each other.

Earlier, as she was talking to her cousin Neji and her uncle Hizashi, an attendant had appeared and requested her presence inside their clan's largest dojo. Her uncle's eyes immediately fell flat at the attendant's words and he had quickly left with Neji who barely had time to wave goodbye at her.

Now she knew why he left in such a haste.

The moment she entered the dojo doors, she was informed that she would be fighting her cousin Neji in a taijutsu match. Her father, uncle, and elders would be their silent spectators.

It was obvious that they were expecting something, their stares blank as they sat in strategic positions around the room for better viewing.

It was with trepidation that Hinata assumed her stance against her cousin. There was a bitter taste in her tongue as she began to roam Neji's form for weaknesses to exploit.

He was family. Her cousin. It felt wrong to attack him just for the sake of gauging their strengths. Wrong and unfair…

Vaguely, she remembered something Sirius had told her so very long ago. How the Black family had a similar tradition of pitting their children against each other in a sort of hierarchy. It was one of the reasons, Sirius had said, why he hated Bellatrix the most out of all his insane relatives. The Lestrange had a sadistic streak even as a child and had no qualms about using lethal hexes and curses against her cousins and sisters.

Worse, Bellatrix had an advantage of being both older and having an affinity with dark magic and took great pleasure in prolonging her matches to inflict more pain. And instead of stopping her from harming Sirius and the others during duels, the older Blacks encouraged, even praised Bellatrix for her prowess.

Hinata frowned. Fighting though they were, she would never attack Neji with the intention of doing permanent damage like Bellatrix.

She would end this quickly. If Neji was clearly stronger, she would accept her loss gracefully and with haste. If _she_ was stronger on the other hand…

Neji gave Hinata an encouraging smile, small enough to go unnoticed by the stoic elders. She tried to return it, but it came out more of a grimace than anything else.

" _Hajime_!"

The cry signified the start of the match and Hinata wasted no time attacking, trading blows and parrying sharp jabs from her cousin. In the short span of five seconds, she realized that Neji was good, very good. His form was excellent, the strength of his strikes were hard enough to leave bruises on her skin, and for a four-year old, his movements were as fluid as a grown man.

But…

As they continued to fight, it became clear to her that there were two reasons why he couldn't demolish her outright in this match.

One, Neji's movements mirrored that of her father's whenever they sparred. As she ducked another palm strike and tried to sweep Neji's legs underneath him, Hinata concluded that her cousin was using the Hyuuga intermediate katas.

And it was too predictable for her.

She may not have been allowed by her father to use the intermediate set of katas yet, but she was familiar with it. And for someone who had an adult's mind, it was fairly easy to gauge her memories to compare it to her father's moves and calculate which fist Neji would use to strike, which elbow he'd move to parry, what angle his feet were going to move next.

The Hyuuga katas were sadly predictable to a critical eye. But it was a given, seeing as they were only the precursor for their greater fighting style, the Gentle Fist.

The second problem was Neji's speed. Her cousin's movements were significantly slower than she was used to. Her father did not use his full speed whenever they sparred, but it was fast enough for Hinata to stress out her full senses in order to keep up. As such, Neji's movements almost looked sluggish to her, and Hinata knew that to a regular child it was anything but.

Unfortunately for her cousin, speed was her specialty.

And young though she was, Hinata still retained the sharp senses she had from her previous life, the same senses that gave her good environmental awareness and an eye for subtle gestures, senses that saved her life in a pinch several times. Add in her speed to that, and it was very hard for her to miss anything.

She had not been the youngest Seeker in a hundred years for no reason.

"Hinata-sama's responsiveness is commendable." Hyuuga Masaki, sister to Takahiro and aunt to the twin clan heads, said in a low tone. The others turned to her and she continued, "She anticipates the attacks and reacts accordingly."

Several spectators murmured in agreement as they watched the children spar. It was obvious to a trained eye that despite her younger age and smaller body, Hinata had enough skill to keep up with her cousin and deliver considerable damage as well.

"Fitting for the heiress of the Main House." Another elder said, his voice loud enough to carry over the din.

"And as heir of the Branch House." The former clan head intoned, his snow-white head turning to the elder. "Both my grandchildren embody the strength of the Hyuuga, doesn't everyone agree?"

Everyone was quick to murmur their praises and platitudes, an awkward silence ensuing afterwards. The reprimand was clear in Takahiro's voice, and nobody wanted to displease the former clan head.

"Neji is very skilled." Hiashi complimented, turning to Hizashi with a slight smile. "I remember when we were children—"

"Neji lives for Hinata-sama's sake." Hizashi interrupted, not looking away from their sparring children. "His life's duty is to protect the future clan head."

His statement was punctuated with a firm thud and a yelp, and Hiashi turned his head just in time to see his daughter pin his nephew to the tatami mat, sweat beading on her forehead. She had twisted his arm, jabbing the pressure point on his line of flection with three fingers as she pressed her tiny foot on Neji's stomach.

Hiashi grimaced. It was somewhat symbolic, an ominous one, to see his daughter defeat his brother's son like this. He wondered—from the anguished look on his twin's face, to the triumphant smirks of the elders—if his family had accepted the outcome of the children's fight as the future they were settling with.

* * *

 **…**

The Hyuuga ceremony began at three in the afternoon, with the clouds heavy and dark with the promise of cold winds. Despite this, not a twitch of complaint was made as every member of the Hyuuga clan stood on the heart of the grounds and listened to their elders' proceedings.

The little Mistress of Death stood with her mother and father at the very head of their gathered family, face blank but mentally reminding herself that the warming charm would definitely be the first spell she would learn properly once she got her magic reserves up, if only to avoid the biting weather next time.

She shook her head and glanced at the side. Her cousin Neji was with his father, tiny face serious as he stared at the talking elder. She caught his eye and he smiled faintly, waving a hand at her. Hinata waved back.

"—to uphold the philosophies of the Hyuuga. As one clan we dedicate our devotions to our family and the village we serve. Therefore it is an honor to carry the symbol of our sacrifice and the mark of tradition followed since the era of the warring years."

A silence followed the speech before Hinata spied her uncle Hizashi leading Neji to the front. A few more Hyuuga children and their parents followed in her uncle and cousin's footsteps, and Hinata watched in trepidation as they stood in front of her, her parents and a few other relatives. As one, they bowed deeply.

Confused, Hinata glanced at her father's stone-faced figure.

"Tou-sama?"

"Hush, Hinata." He tightened his grip on her shoulder.

She watched as her uncle led the parents and their children inside the main house. There was a solemn air around everyone, and Hinata was filled with a sense of foreboding.

What in the name of Merlin was happening?

* * *

 **…**

They all came back with a swath of cloth wrapped on their foreheads.

Hinata stiffened at that, eyes sweeping her gathered clan, only realizing at that moment that most of her relatives hid their foreheads with either their hair, a protector, or a cloth of some sorts. It was only when the procession of teary-eyed children came trailing out of the hall did she realize that with only a small exception of her parents, grandfather, and a few other choice relatives, every single one of the Hyuuga had their foreheads covered.

Uncle Hizashi and Neji appeared last of the group. Her uncle's face could be carved from stone even as Neji put on a brave face and tried to smile for his father. He was not crying, although his eyes were red-rimmed and he seemed to be shuddering once in a while.

He looked pained.

Hinata opened her mouth, confused and furious at the thought of children getting hurt, but before she could blurt out anything, her mother pressed her head down in a forced bow and pushed her gently to her father once she straightened up.

"Tou-sama? What happened?" Hinata asked the moment she was alone with her parents on the porch of their house. "What happened to their foreheads? Is Neji-nii hurt?"

Her father stiffened at that and he gave her a sharp look. "What do you mean, Hinata?"

"Their foreheads were wrapped." Hinata said bluntly. Did her father think she was blind? There was no way she could miss that. "The children were crying. And I just noticed it now, but every person in the clan except for a few of us hide their foreheads."

Hiashi sighed and inclined his head at his wife, who nodded and left. He sometimes wished his daughter wasn't so intuitive, but this conversation was inevitable.

He knew his daughter would be difficult. Hinata had a fair sense of justice and refused to bow down to pressure, as demonstrated on how she befriended and defended Minato's son despite the ill rumors surrounding the boy. One of the reasons why his father agreed to the Hokage's appeal for Hinata to play with the blonde orphan was because he caught his granddaughter rehearsing a speech to meet the little Uzumaki again. Takahiro had found it amusing, how Hinata had stood her ground and said that she disliked how a child her same age was being treated so unfairly by adults.

Hiashi could see so much innate goodness in his daughter that it made him mourn how skewed her view of the world would be in the years to come.

Which was why he did not look forward to explaining their family's hierarchy to her right now. But he had to, so he would. She needed to be hardened, for her sake and the clan's.

"What you saw, Hinata, was a sealing ceremony." Hiashi began quietly as they sat down in a seiza. "What was placed in those children's foreheads today is a brand, a seal that protects our dojutsu."

Hinata blinked pale eyes at her father.

Oh. A brand in the forehead, huh? A brand that protects…

She grimaced and ghosted her fingers on the top of her skull. It's been years since she lost her iconic scar, since even as Harry it had long since faded with Voldemort's death, but it had been as much of a brand as it was a protection.

The lightning bolt scar she had in her past life was both the hand movement for the killing curse as well as the runic symbol for sowilo, the rune of success. Both a mark of Voldemort's attempted murder of a baby and a symbol against harm.

The new seal on her cousin's forehead was a form of protection as well apparently, or so her father says.

"What does the seal do to protect, tou-sama?" she asked with the interest of a former runic practitioner.

Her father seemed to hesitate before replying. "The seal destroys the Byakugan upon death. It is a precaution against the theft of our eyes. In the event of a battle, after a Hyuuga dies, the seal will release a pulse of chakra and direct it to the body's eyes to destroy the Byakugan's capabilities, preventing anyone from taking it and implanting it on another person."

Hinata stared.

What. How was _that_ any kind of protection for the person? It just sounded like an assurance against grave robbing, like one of those Egyptian seals Bill always complained about dismantling whenever Gringotts raided a tomb for ancient treasure.

But then, the Byakugan _was_ a treasure, at least to her clan.

In this world, eyes could apparently be transplanted so easily from one person to another. Hinata had been astonished when she heard, considering that even the magical world, where wizards could re-grow bones from nothing, could not replace a whole eye. It could be healed or restored using potions or spells, but transplanting the whole eyeball from one person to another? No Healer or Mediwizard could claim to do that. Compatibility aside, the eye's optic nerve was too delicate, too connected to the brain to be re-attached to another person.

But _this_ world could. Or at least, shinobi could. It had something to do with chakra compatibility and medical ninjutsu bypassing the body's normal limitations. Hinata's information about it was limited though, as her mother's technical jargons went over her head and she wasn't really paying attention.

She did grow up with horror stories from almost every old person in her clan stressing how important her eyes were, how they could be stolen by people if she wasn't careful. The Byakugan was considered a rarity by all.

 _Of course they'd have a precaution to make sure it didn't end up in wrong hands._

"Oh." Hinata said, unable to think of anything else to say. It didn't exactly provide any safety for her family members but the brand still made sense in a depressing kind of way.

She chewed on tongue. "When will I get it, then?"

"Pardon?"

"The seal." Hinata said patiently. "When will I get the seal on my forehead, tou-sama?"

Hiashi studied his daughter carefully. "You are not getting the seal, Hinata."

She scrunched her brows in confusion. "Why not, tou-sama? If every Hyuuga gets it, then why shouldn't I? In fact, why doesn't everyone have it? You and mama don't have it. Takahiro-oji doesn't have it. Ko doesn't have it either."

Hiashi sighed at Hinata's probing. This was the part he dreaded. "You understand my role in our clan, don't you?"

"Yes." she nodded, confused at the diverted topic. "Tou-sama is the clan leader, the head of the family."

"That is true. However, there are some aspects of our clan that you are unaware of." Hiashi said, trying to keep it as simple as possible for her to understand. "You may not have noticed it daughter, but our clan has two divisions. The main family and the branch family. The main family lead the clan. I, along with you, your mother and grandfather, are all a part of the main family. The members of the branch family on the other hand, such as your uncle and cousin Neji, dedicate their efforts into attending to the main family and protecting the clan secrets."

That sounded like servitude, Hinata thought wildly. Suddenly, the deferential way her relatives acted around her now made sense. But what did it have to do with the seal?

"The brand on your cousin's forehead…" Her father continued in a tired voice. "The brand on your uncle and most of our clan members is indicative of their status as a branch member of our family."

"What does the seal _do,_ tou-sama?" she insisted, feeling a pool of dread settle on her stomach. "It _does_ something. If it just destroys the Byakugan, we would all have it, branch family symbol or no."

"Yes. That is true enough." Her father looked at her directly, eyes hard. "The seal can be triggered in two ways, Hinata. Dying, and through manual activation by one of the main family members. Death is the natural trigger. Once the seal senses no brain activity, it will activate and destroy the Byakugan. If a member of the main family activates it however, the seal sends a large amount of pain through their brain instead, giving us control on the foreign chakra output." Hiashi sighed grimly. "The seal allows us control over the branch family, daughter. _That_ is what it does."

Hinata stared at her father, speechless in horror, a thrill of cold crawling up her spine. Her mind replayed the image of her family's concealed foreheads, all of them hiding their brands of servitude—

"Your cousin and most of the children who received their seals today should have gotten it during your third birthday." Hiashi continued. "The elders postponed it for a few months and decided to proceed with it today."

She felt sick. Those kids were supposed to be branded during her _birthday_? Like some gift to her or something?

The seal was a damn slave mark! There wasn't any other word for it. It was practically forcing more than half of her family under the service of a selected few!

What kind of bloody mindfuckery was this shit?! Even the Wizarding World wasn't this twisted!

A sly voice drawled inside her mind. _Well, there were the more barbaric magical societies—_

But no! People were not _house elves_! At least house elves _liked_ serving since it was their way of life. But to forcibly indenture your own _family_?

"That's…" she sucked in a breath, trying to keep her outrage in control. "Tou-sama. You can't possibly... Everything about it sounds cruel—"

"I knew you'd see it that way." Her father said. "But it isn't that simple, Hinata. It has been tradition for hundreds of years and most of the branch family now see it as their duty to serve the main family just as their parents did before them. They would see it as an insult to their— _our_ ancestors if they neglect this burden."

"But it's wrong!" she insisted angrily, twisting her kimono in frustration. Dimly, she realized that this was how Hermione must have felt when she started S.P.E.W. Hermione had stopped campaigning to have the house elves freed once she realized that it would literally kill the elves out of distress, but Hinata now realized how it looked like from Hermione's point of view at the beginning.

Living, breathing beings following every order given to them without a choice, pain as a punishment for disobedience…

 _But it's been tradition for years_ —

"In a way, you may see it as something wrong." Hiashi told his fuming daughter. He drew her to his side and stroked her hair. "But wrong as it is, it is here anyway. And do not think that we are monsters, Hinata. We do not abuse our family. Just as the branch family protect us, the main family do their duty by leading the clan as much as we can to repay their service."

Hinata clenched her fists and ducked her head. Her father made it sound like everything was alright with a system like this, but she knew it wasn't. Not in the least.

The fact that the seal existed created a distinction. Made the branch family believe that they were of lower status despite being of one blood. And in a system like this, she knew that there were branch members who were unhappy with their life just as there were members of the main family who abused their authority.

Why else would a seal be needed to keep them in line?

It was like the wizarding war all over again, muggleborns and so-called 'blood-traitors' being tagged and registered by the Ministry as second-class citizens. And they couldn't even retaliate because the Ministry had their magical signature and would go after their family if they disobeyed.

She wanted to grab the nearest branch member and tear the accursed seal apart if she could. Instead, she gritted her teeth and allowed her father to draw her nearer in comfort.

"Why is Uncle Hizashi a branch member then?" Hinata blurted out. "He's your brother. He and Neji-nii should be part of the main family."

The hand that was stroking her hair stilled. Her father lowered his eyes at her and Hinata felt discomfited at the emotion in his face.

"I was born just a few minutes earlier than your uncle. During our birth, the previous head of the branch family had just passed away. Rather than let your uncle stay as a member of the main family, it was decided by the elders to let him lead the branch family as a sign of goodwill."

"Goodwill!" Hinata bit out angrily. What, people was some sort of commodity to be passed on now!?

 _But it makes sense, don't you see? Politically, it makes sense._

Hinata was getting fed up with her mind contradicting her.

"Calm, Hinata." Her father said, the lines on his face made more prominent at his frown. "It was a mutual decision from both the main and branch families. They believed it was safer for your uncle to lead the branch family rather than stay under my shadow and pose a risk to the inheritance of clan leadership. Your Uncle leads the branch family proudly, regardless."

Hinata directed disbelieving eyes at him and Hiashi smiled slightly at the defiance in her face.

"I see you feel strongly about this. Your uncle and I were the same, you know. As children, we dreamed of changing the ways of our clan. But it is not that easy to get rid of centuries of tradition and sacrifice. Our family's division had been ingrained in everyone's minds that it would take great effort to even make them consider anything else." Hiashi patted his daughter's head gently. She was such a stubborn little thing… "You are young still, Hinata. Only time will tell if you can make a difference. But as of the moment, despite your status as heiress, you are a child and your opinions will count against you. I ask that you keep your beliefs to yourself for the moment until you have the power to stand your ground."

Hinata opened her mouth to answer, but a creak of wood made both of them look up in surprise, having been too caught up in their discussion to sense someone approaching.

"Hizashi." Her father said in acknowledgment, and Hinata straightened up from her father's side as her uncle and cousin drew closer to them.

" _Aniue_." Hizashi nodded. There was a neutral look on his face. "My son wanted to see your daughter."

He led Neji forward, and Hinata brightened as her cousin waved at her tentatively. His head was still bandaged but there was a smile on his face now, albeit hesitant.

Hinata smiled back, uncertain if her cousin had an idea of what their family just did to him today. Practically caging him and his future…

"Hinata, lead Neji-kun inside the house, will you?"

"Hai, tou-sama." Hinata said, taking her cousin's hand and pulling him inside the house. She shot her father a questioning look, and Hiashi returned it with a nod, signifying the continuation of their discussion for later.

That left the two brothers outside. Two clan heads in all intents and purposes, but with one leading and the other serving.

Hiashi leveled a calm look at his twin. "Hizashi. Sit with me. It seems we have some things to discuss."

* * *

 **…**

Hinata led Neji to the opposite side of their house, near her mother's gardens where they first met just a few hours ago. The whole house was quiet, and there was a general air of solemnity around the place.

She sighed, glancing at Neji, specifically his concealed forehead.

It was daunting how many things could happen in the span of a few hours, especially…

"Hiashi-sama told you, didn't he?" Neji piped up as he followed her dutifully.

Hinata faltered, darting her attention away from his forehead as she met his eyes with a somber look. So he knew what their family did to him. She wondered if he hated her; she wouldn't blame him if he did—

Neji correctly guessed her expression and shook his head with a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Hinata-hime. I don't mind. Father told me that it is my duty to protect you." There was a pleased flush to his face as he tightened his grip on her hand.

Hinata stared at him. "Uncle Hizashi said that?"

"Un." Neji nodded, smiling. "I'm going to be your defender. If anyone's mean to you, you come to me, alright? I'll fight them."

Hinata stared at him for a few more moments before she felt the urge to hit her head on the nearest unyielding surface.

"You… you don't have to do that, Neji-nii." She tried to say instead.

"No, I want to." Neji said, shaking his head. His face was earnest, boyishly eager. "You're the future clan head. Father says it's a great honor for me to protect you. And I like being around you, Hinata-hime. You're very nice. And strong too!"

Hinata smiled at him weakly, tugging Neji into the kitchen as she tried to collect her thoughts, the soft patter of their feet against the floor echoing through the dimly lit hallway.

Hinata sighed in the silence.

Their fathers _did not_ just pull a Lucius Malfoy at them.

The image of Draco standing smugly with his two burly henchmen flashed in her mind.

She remembered how Crabbe and Goyle had always been willing to beat up anyone who earned Draco's displeasure, and while it was a disservice to compare those two squat boys to her innocently smiling cousin, their supposed roles made it hard for her not to see the similarity, especially in light of what Neji just told her a moment ago.

 _If anyone's mean to you, you come to me, alright? I'll fight them._

Crabbe and Goyle's purpose in life had been simple. Serve the Malfoy family. Draco had mentioned, way later in life, that Crabbe and Goyle shadowing him was a contract between their fathers. They were Draco's personal guards in a sense, and had Draco's little sister lived (the child Narcissa had miscarried), she would have had her own minions in the form of Hestia and Flora, Amycus Carrow's twins.

Despite her dislike of them, she always held a sense of empathy for Crabbe and Goyle, not only because they had to pander to the likes of Malfoy, but also because it seemed like they only moved to Draco's tune, never having the chance to make their own opinions. It was hard and painful to watch two human beings delegated to the task of following a spoiled brat around like guard dogs.

Hinata had lived being a servant before. She knew how it felt like, following the orders of another without any choice, feeling trapped, as if there was nothing to your life except being under the thumb of someone else. She remembered the ache of her back and the sun's sweltering heat, her hands mechanically digging into Petunia's flowerbeds as she tried to work as fast as she could, if only for the chance to get back into the house and rest her body and eat whatever leftover they were kind enough to leave for her.

And while she knew that the Branch family's fate may not be that bad, she wasn't sure, and she still believes that there are some who think of it as a chain, pulling them back from achieving their true potential.

No way was she allowing Neji to experience that kind of insult.

He saw it as an honor right now, probably proud at the thought of protecting her like a knight, but she knew that he would resent it someday. Resent _her_ someday. And Hinata was not willing to let that happen.

Her cousin was brilliant. His purpose in life was not about to end at just guarding her.

She'll find a way to abolish the seal, one way of the other.

"Oh? What are you two doing here?"

Neji tugged her hand to a stop and Hinata blinked at the figure of their grandfather standing in front of them, peering at them kindly. They bowed in automatic response.

"Ojii-sama," they said at the same time. Surprised, they looked at each other and smiled at the unison.

"It brings joy to my heart to see my two grandchildren getting along." Takahiro said, the wrinkles at the sides of his face deepening as he smiled. "I've never had the chance to speak to the two of you together, have I?"

"No, ojii-sama." Neji spoke up for the both of them.

"Hmph. I'll have to ask the two of you for tea with me someday, then." Takahiro said. "One day, when these bones don't ache too loudly anymore…"

Neji nodded gravely, and Hinata was silently amused at how he reverted back to his Hyuuga stoicism. It was sort of cute, reminding her a little of Teddy's face whenever he was told to choose only one of hundreds of Honeydukes chocolate flavors.

 _Honeydukes, hm… There's an idea…_

Hinata tilted her head to the side, surprised at seeing the figure of Ko behind their grandfather's back. She waved her hand at him and her caretaker returned her greeting with a nod.

"Where are your fathers, Neji-kun? Hinata-chan?" Their grandfather asked, bringing a hand down to both their heads.

"At the east side of the house, talking, ojii-sama." Hinata answered.

"Ah. Those two are finally talking, I see." There was a satisfied look on their grandfather's face. "Very well. I suppose I'll check up on them right now."

He turned to leave, Ko following behind him, but then he looked back, aged eyes thoughtful.

"I've been receiving reports on your studies, the both of you. You've been doing well." Takahiro smiled. "Especially you, Hinata-chan. Ko has been keeping me up to date with your interesting progress. I must say, I'm very proud of you two. I look forward to the things you'll come up with someday."

And with that, he left with Ko, leaving Hinata to wonder about the odd twinkle in her grandfather's eyes.

* * *

 **…**

 **A/N:** Well, there you go. An adorable Neji and the caged bird seal. Fun fact: The term 'caged bird seal' is actually fan-made and is not actually canon. It's official name is the Hyuuga cursed seal. Fans just got the caged bird thing from the rant Neji spouted off during his match with Naruto during the Chunin Exam.

Alright. Now for some bad news. I'm currently living with my grandmother right now. She's not that feeling well, and she needs someone with her. I took responsibility, which means that along with work, I won't have as much time to write. Of course I'm not abandoning my stories (I've actually got two more in the works) but updates will be about three to two chapters a month for now.

Next chapter we'll be dealing with the Kumo affair, and a few canon characters make their appearance. I look forward to writing this one.

I will be posting the last chapter of WtLotL by this week. And to those people reviewing flames and insults anonymously, why oh why would you exert effort in hating a story that cowardly? Do get an account and be brave enough to flame authors to your face.

 **Read and review.**

Memory out.


	7. To leave the rest

**Yes. I rise from the grave. Only to announce that my stories are in permanent hiatus. Sorry.**

 **I'm taking up law and it is a cruel mistress. Therefore, I cannot promise that I can finish my stories. I apologize and bring offerings. I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this but since Towards the Sun is the most popular story I have, I shall upload the rough drafts I have for it.**

* * *

 **1.** **Hinata meeting Itachi and Shisui (through murder birds)**

 _Scenario: Little Neji and Hinata walking in the snow meets a special murder bird._

Hinata was about to leave when a tickle of foreign chakra brushed her senses. Startled, she almost tripped on a rock as she whipped around for the source.

There was no one but her and her cousin around the clearing.

Strange…

"Caw!"

This time both she and Neji stopped, boots crunching in the snow. They looked at each other before darting their eyes at the croaky call.

"There!" Neji pointed with wide eyes, scampering towards the large black thing nestled on a snow-topped bush.

"Wait, Neji-nii!" Hinata called, hurrying to him. He ignored her and stopped only a few feet away from the avian, staring at the oddly serene bird.

It was a crow.

Hinata was instantly wary.

The crow in front of them was no ordinary bird. For one, it was abnormally large. Hinata could also sense chakra thrumming through the avian, and the way its black eyes swiveled at them considerably made her believe that it was intelligent.

But that wasn't the cause of her wariness.

No, it was more about the fact that crows were messengers of death. And being the Mistress of Death, she had a very peculiar effect on creatures that symbolize demise.

They could sense Death's presence draped on her like a veil. It made them unhealthily curious. She remembered how dementors had followed her around before she made the habit of keeping her Patronus out to drive them away. Lethifolds would creep on her bedding before she freaked out and asked (pleaded) Death to ward them away. Wild thestrals didn't mind her getting close despite the claims that they could bite a man's head off if spooked. She even had a nundu that she kept around for months, only parting ways with it when it found a mate. She named it Bob.

She didn't know what magical creatures equated to in this world, but she bet that a crow with chakra coils was a damn near one. She was also unsure if the blatant curiosity of deathly creatures followed her to this world considering she never encountered one in this life yet, but since she was still Mistress of Death, she was going to go with—

"Caw!"

Yes. Yes they did.

Hinata grimaced. She didn't look forward to being followed by a crow everywhere—

The large bird shuffled its glossy black feathers, cawing loudly as it rocked back and forth, beady eyes trailed on the two of them. Neji took a wary step in front of Hinata but before he could shield her from view, the crow had lunged, faster than they anticipated.

Hinata raised her arm automatically and barely registered the sharp sting before she saw the blood burst on her wrist. The crow's pointed beak had pierced her arm, dragging across cloth and skin to make a bloody gouge. She cried out in pain and retracted her injured limb away, snapping out her other hand out to grip her attacker. The crow drew back with surprising speed, blood splattering into the snowy ground.

"Hinata!" Neji cried, furiously pushing the flapping bird away.

"It's fine. I'm fine, Neji-nii." Hinata hissed, clamping a hand down on the surprisingly deep cut that the crow made. Blood was flowing freely on her arm now, a stark red contrast against the pale of her skin.

"You're hurt!"

She tried to smile at him. "It stings, but I'm fine."

"We have to heal it." Neji said, pale eyes naked with worry. "Aunt Hiyori will know how!"

"Alright." Hinata said, allowing him to lead her away. The cut was now throbbing with acute pain. It actually felt like a knife wound.

Her cousin shot the bird a dirty look.

The crow had settled on top of a tree, its unnerving eyes still trailed on them. Hinata could see its black beak stained with droplets of her blood, clicking open as the red liquid dripped to its feathers. She shook her head, a little relieved at being wrong.

It seems that creatures of death were not drawn to her anymore.

…

Long lashes fluttered open, revealing fathomless black eyes that slowly bled into a blood red. Tomoe spun lazily as it took in the entirety of the image of Konoha at its winter daylight, a stark contrast to his dwelling place that was bathed in darkness.

"Here you are." A long-suffering voice said. "What the hell are you doing here, little cousin? It's fucking cold out. The clan meeting starts in fifteen; I don't want to get hazed by your parents again. Especially your father—"

"I have lost Akira."

It was said in a soft voice that barely carried over the din. Nevertheless, the ranting broke off immediately and a stunned silence ensued.

"Akira? Your summons?" A slight pause. "The fat one?"

"My summon," There was a hint of offense in those words. "Is not fat, Shisui."

"She tried to eat my fingers, Itachi. And she's bigger than your other crows." Shisui gave his cousin a leveled look. "What do you mean by you've lost her?"

Itachi swiveled his eyes towards him, Sharingan glinting in the dark. "I do not know where she is. I know of her well-being but my other senses of her are impeded."

"See, this is why people think you're rude." Shisui said in exasperation, folding his arms. "Words, Itachi. Please dumb it down for me."

"I don't understand it myself." Itachi replied. He got to his feet and frowned slightly, looking at the expanse of the village. "My connection to Akira was muted. She is still under my command, but it seems I can no longer control her if she is not within my vision."

"What." Shisui said. "That's impossible. Your crows feed off your chakra and you're saying you lost control over them?"

"Not all of them." Itachi said. "Just Akira."

"Oh, so just your demon bird that can turn into shadows, can alter her size, can use chakra, and is basically the leader of your merry band of murder. You know I told you to stop letting her roam free." Shisui said, rubbing his forehead. "Is she still in the village?"

A slight nod from the Uchiha heir. Then he tilted his head thoughtfully, his face serene as he added, "It's strange, though. It feels like I'm not her only summoner anymore…"

"What?" Shisui made a noise of shock. "You mean someone literally stole your summons away?"

"I hope not." Itachi mused softly, his eyes still bleeding the red of their dojutsu. "I do not take kindly to people taking what is mine, Shisui."

…

* * *

 **2.** **Hinata finds Shisui near-death**

 _Scenario: Hinata takes a stroll and finds a floating not-dead body. Fuck her Potter luck._

"Anapneo," Hinata hissed, fingers trembling as she directed her magic through the Elder Wand, pressing the glowing tip at the boy's bruised throat.

The black-haired boy convulsed, heaving as the spell forced his airway cleared, and he doubled up gasping as he spat out globs of blood mixed with mucus and river water. He slumped back into the ground with a whimpered groan and Hinata scrambled forward, knowing he wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Right… healing spells… healing spells…" Hinata muttered in a frenzy, kneeling beside him. "Tergeo. Episkey. Ferula."

She wasn't sure if her spells would work. She didn't have proper control over her magic.

But the Elder Wand followed her incantations seamlessly, drawing almost no magic from her. She didn't have time to wonder over that as she watched in relief when most of the dirt and blood from the boy was siphoned, his split lip knit back together, and a stream of bandages wove tightly around his ravaged legs.

"Thank fuck Merlin." Hinata swore out loud, shoulders slumping. She jabbed the Elder Wand here and there, healing scrapes and bruises. She did a diagnostic scan and winced at the amount of injuries the boy had—shattered bones, internal bleeding, at least two of his organs were severely damaged…

And he was missing his eyes.

Fuck Merlin and Circe and Morgana and whatever other magical pagan entity existed out there.

The boy was missing his eyes.

And alright, Hinata knows that she shouldn't panic, shouldn't get hysterical—Merlin knows she'd seen far more worse things than a boy with no eyes—but she wasn't feeling very rational and she'd heard a lot of horror stories from the Hyuuga elders about finding dead people with no eyeballs, okay?

And haha, here was one guy right now, straight out of old hag Masako's stories.

"No. I do not have clearance for this. I'm six. I may have the mind of a grown-ass bloke, but I'm bloody six. Shit didn't happen to me in the Wizarding World until after I turned eleven." Hinata said, releasing the Elder Wand with a clatter. "I just went out for a walk, for Circe's sake. How did it lead to… well, this."

She flapped her hand at the now unconscious boy with bloodied clothes and injured body, still half-wet from his swim at the river. Hinata herself was soaked from waist down after wading through to drag the body upstream. She sighed, picking up her discarded wand and tapped the boy's skull. She very firmly did not look at his flat sockets.

"Obscuro." she chanted. A black blindfold tightly wrapped itself around the top-half of his head, leaving his nostrils free for him to breathe.

...

* * *

 **3.** **Hinata meeting Hamura (the Hyuuga with** ** _horns)_**

"Who… are you?" Hinata said, staring at the imposing man floating in front of her.

His face was austere, haughty almost. His long, waist-length hair was pure white and there were a pair of honest-to-Merlin _horns_ protruding from his forehead. He was wearing archaic-looking robes that reminded Hinata of imperial royalty, and there was a pattern of six black magatama around his high collar. There was an otherworldly quality to his overall appearance, an ethereal stillness that made Hinata want to stop and gawk.

He was a Hyuuga, Hinata was sure, because he had the same pale eyes as she had. The Byakugan.

The man seemed unsurprised to see her, his expression giving nothing away except for the slight frown slanting his lips.

Definitely a Hyuuga, Hinata thought. Nobody could pull off an expression of Malfoy-like distaste like her clan could. Well except for the Uchiha. They took sneering to a whole new level. Like Snape-worthy levels.

Still, she was not familiar with the man before her, and she knew all of her Hyuuga relatives by now. It wasn't possible for her to miss him either, as he stood out like a king among peasants.

And those horns…

"I am Otsutsuki Hamura." The man said in a refined baritone, flickering his Byakugan eyes at her. "And it seemeth thee hath called me to thy side, little one. How strange."

"Otsutsuki Hamura." Hinata recited, still confused. "Al…right ? Er, sorry to bother you but I definitely didn't call anyone."

Judging from his clothes and outdated way of speaking, he was a dead Hyuuga. As in dead dead. Centuries dead. Hinata did not know why a possible ancestor of hers was randomly mucking around in her mindscape, and she was definitely not excited to find out.

"But thee hast called me." Hamura said, still not lifting his eyes from her. "Thy physical form might not has't uttered the call, but thy soul didst."

"Ah… My soul is sort of… out of control." Hinata grumbled, looking up at him. "As for calling you back, I do that unconsciously sometimes."

After finding out that Death ate the _Fourth fucking Hokage,_ Hinata was kind of used to spirits appearing in her mindscape willy-nilly.

Didn't mean she enjoyed people barging in her private space, though. Just rude, really. But also partly her fault, so she let it go.

The man named Hamura made to speak, but he suddenly paused and adapted a look of consideration. Then a wave of warmth enveloped Hinata, only for a second, before she felt a tentative touch on her mind. She recoiled, wary of the foreign, invasive feeling that felt like Legilimency, until she realized that the man wasn't forcefully attacking her mental shields, merely linking the two of them together with gentleness, waiting for her to admit passage.

It almost felt… nice.

She let the foreign chakra in tentatively and was pleasantly surprised to feel it settle shallowly on her thoughts, delving no further.

"Apologies. I should have told you of my intentions to intrude upon your mind." the man called Hamura said. "I merely thought that my way of speaking must have sounded peculiar to you, as your language was as foreign to me."

"No problem." Hinata replied, still stumped at his appearance. "But what did you just do? It felt like Legilimens—er, mind reading."

"It is not mind reading. Merely a technique of ninshu." Hamura murmured , studying her with interest. "You are an Otsutsuki, I believe."

"A what now?" Hinata said in bewilderment. She could feel Death approach in the recesses of her mind. Good. Maybe her friend could make sense of this weird place and the weirder Hyuuga with horns.

"An Otsutsuki. One of my descendants, child." The man said with a slight edge of impatience in his voice.

"Oh. No. I'm not an Otsutsuki. I'm a Hyuuga." Hinata answered politely. "But yes to the descendant thing, since I do have the Byakugan like you."

Hamura's expression cleared. "Ah. I see. A child of Hosuseri's then. You are the part of the Otsutsuki of Earth."

"…if that's your translation of a Hyuuga, then yes, I'm an Otsutsuki of Earth." Hinata said, deciding to humor the man. He had the Byakugan and he was obviously ancient, so maybe that's how the Hyuuga were known as centuries ago?

Otsutsuki of Earth. Such an odd name for a clan.

To her surprise, he chuckled lightly. "I see you are not aware of your origins. That would be Hosuseri's doing. He vowed to seal any knowledge there was about his brother's family living on the moon."

Hinata stared.

Right. The man was completely bonkers.

"Any idea on how to get out of here?" she asked casually, inching away from the floating bloke with horns.

...

* * *

 **4.** **Hamura's gift (** ** _Wherein Hinata gets more powerups and gets to spank transmigrants on her knees. Wtf, Death)_**

 _Scenario: Hinata learns of Ashura and Indra. Also, Death gives her homework._

Hamura sighed. "I do wish for Hagoromo's sons to be at peace with each other. Not for their sakes, as I could care less about their squabbles, but for the sake of the rest of the world." The ancient demigod frowned. "My older brother inherited much power from our mother, more so than I did, and his sons manifested the same potential. None of my descendants stood a chance against them…" He eyed her meaningfully. "Until now that is."

Ringing silence.

"Woah. Hold on a bloody minute." Hinata said after a beat, eyes widening when it dawned on her. "You're not pitting me against your brother's super-powered sprogs, are you?"

"I too, wish to see Indra and Asura's feud come to an end, Mistress." Death said, appearing displeased. "Their will was powerful enough to overcome even that of beyond death. As such, part of their souls, part of their chakra, mingled with that of their transmigrants."

"Transmigrants." Hinata said slowly. "Huh. I've heard of that word. From Hogwarts, actually... It's a soul inheritance of sorts." There was a teacher, a Headmaster and Grand Sorcerer from the sixties whose magic and memories manifested in a boy during the nineties.

"Unlike your situation, it is not a full reincarnation. No mortal can deliberately enter their soul into the process of reincarnation. Not without my hand in it." Death said, emitting an air of haughty arrogance. "And yet there are some souls strong enough to pass a part of themselves to whoever they deem worthy. That is transmigration. A powerful, yet subconscious desire for their beliefs to survive that the closest souls inherit their will. A crude method, but a working one unfortunately."

"That sounds an awful lot like a horcrux." Hinata said. "Splitting their souls, damning themselves to a cursed immortality." She elaborated at Hamura's inquiring brow. The look of revulsion on her ancestor made her ease.

"It does seem like a horcrux, although transmigration does not require any sacrificial murder and doesn't have any consequences." Death seemed to sigh. "Unless you count the original soul being trapped in limbo, waiting for their inheritors to accomplish whatever task they left unfulfilled."

"That does sound like something my nephews could do." Hamura murmured. "They are my brother's children and my mother's first grandchildren."

"The grandsons of a goddess." Hinata said. "Right, I suppose they have enough juice to continue their fights from the grave." She looked at Hamura. "But what about you? Why didn't you or your brother get transmigrated or something? You could've ended their feud yourselves. Spank them over your knee or something. "

"It is not that simple." Hamura said. "For one, I never dreamed—and nor did my brother, I believe— that Indra and Asura's bitter quarrel would continue throughout several lifetimes. _Anija_ and I never fought as bitterly as they did, and we simply could not understand how they could not get along as brothers did." His aged eyes turned pensive. "And we were tired. At our final moments, we truly wished for rest and nothing else." He smiled at her. "I do not remember the Pure Lands, but I could feel it in my soul. I know I resided there, along with my brother and wife and children."

Hinata shot a look at Death. _Pure Lands?_

 _Heaven, Mistress._ Death replied silently.

"Oh." Hinata blinked in realization. "So you really have no regrets before you died."

"None at all." Hamura said. "I was content with my life. Guarding my mother. Protecting my brother's legacy."

"Transmigration depends on pure will." Death supplied quietly. "If a soul is at peace, they have no reason to leave an imprint on the mortal plane."

"Indeed." Hamura turned to Death. Hinata was slightly impressed that he did so with nary a flinch. "I believe my brother and I are powerful enough to manifest our souls in the mortal realm. But to leave a transmigrant? We do not have the resolve."

"I see." Hinata sighed. It was clear that Hamura was content in the Pure Lands. And she wasn't a bloody bastard; she wasn't about to force him out of his afterlife just to clean up after his nephews. And even though Hamura's older brother was clearly more at fault here for not looking after his sons better, Hinata wasn't going to force this Hagoromo bloke out from his eternal rest either.

Everyone who earned heaven shouldn't be ripped away from the peace they deserved.

She could do it. Why not? Investigate moon people. Right. Then she'll find this Indra and Asura and give them a piece of her mind. Make them stop giving Death headaches.

Hamura looked at her with visible fondness, as if reading her mind. She sniffed and looked away.

"Also, it is not possible for him to intervene against his nephews' fates." Death suddenly spoke up. "Fate has greater plans for Indra and Asura's transmigrants, well beyond their eternal conflict."

Hinata deadpanned at that. "Fate, huh? You don't use that word lightly. So… prophecy?"

"Prophecy."

"Merlin damn it."

"I apologize for not being much of help." Hamura said. "I could only tell you of what I know. But perhaps… yes, this may be of use to you."

He lifted his hand and took her left palm. Their intertwined hands immediately glowed a dark purple and Hinata drew in a sharp breath when power began to flood her body, dark and heavy, settling underneath her coils like a shroud on her magic and chakra. Death watched on silently as his Mistress received her rightful inheritance.

She was the Hyuuga heiress after all. There was no one worthier to receive the demigod Hamura's power than she who is his descendant.

And yes, it was probably overkill. But so what if his Mistress was stacked? More power to her, Death should say.

Hamura withdrew his hand from hers and Hinata swayed on the spot, feeling punch-drunk. She felt bloated and drained at the same time, as if she just ran out of adrenaline. She shuddered, lifted her hand to rub her eyes, and blinked when she something stamped on the middle of her palm.

It was a black crescent moon.

"It contains my Yin Release." Hamura said as she stared at it in surprise. "Another inheritance I received from my mother, along with these eyes."

...

* * *

 **5.** **Naruto: the Last Movie (except with a capable Hinata and 300% more Uchihas. Extra warning for Shisui's blabby mouth.)**

 _Scenario: Hinata gets kidnapped, much to her shame. Her boys try to get her back. Shisui despairs._

"I don't think you understand the enormity of this situation, Itachi." Shisui said, arms flailing and eyes wide as he sprinted beside the two brothers. "We're on the moon. Inside a floating castle. Stabbing giggly, creepy puppets while we run after Hinata-chan's crazy stalker who wants to marry her under a giant orb made of Byakugan eyeballs."

Itachi's response was as flat as his mood. "Your point?"

"Shouldn't we have reached the batshit-crazy meter by now? Why am I the only one freaking out about this? Why am I the sane one? What has become of our life?" Shisui groaned, looking to the side where Sasuke was studiously ignoring him as they ran.

Bless him. Nothing fazed the emo one, apparently.

"Shisui. My eyes make eternal hellfire. Your eyes permanently alter people's brains." Itachi deadpanned. "We can create giant, humanoid guardian avatars from our Sharingan and for some reason, my Susanoo has the Yata Mirror, which had the monks back home screaming how I'm either demon spawn or kami reborn for having one of the Three Imperial Regalia in my possession. I don't even have the patience to tell them that I most likely have a variation of the Sword of Kusanagi as well, if the portrait they have on the temple is to be believed. Forgive me for not being too enthused about the current situation."

Sasuke snorted. Itachi was being talkative, which means he was still ticked off. Probably at the monk who poured sacred oil at his head to make ' _Tsukiyomi's mortal form release the divine mirror_ '.

"Point." Shisui muttered grudgingly. "You might not be enthused, but you are murderous at least."

"I am." Itachi said calmly, and everybody knows that an eerily calm Itachi is a scary motherfucker.

A blast of pure green chakra burst outside, visible from the castle window. The feeling of indignant fury emanating from the chakra told them that the Hyuuga heiress was in just as a generous mood as Itachi.

"...aaaaand that would be Hinata-chan. Using her weird sun dojutsu too." Shisui said, slightly fed up. Why is it that everyone he knew were such powerful freaks? Why was _he_ such a powerful freak? Why couldn't he be a potato farmer or something. Then he wouldn't have to deal with Itachi and Sasuke's overprotective tendencies towards Hinata.

"Yo, Itachi. Maybe we should let her handle- aaaaand, he's gone. Guess it's just you and me Sasu- oh, sure leave me alone here too. You fuckers forget that I'm faster than both of you."

Shisui grumbled some more before following after the two. Can't beat em. Join em. After all, he's just as fond of the messy haired girl as his cousins were.

...

* * *

 **A/N: I love the last one the most because it speaks of a beautiful potential. There's not much Naruto in this, because the drafts I have on him are not as concrete, but I hope you enjoyed these snippets. I'm really sorry about the permanent hiatus but learning waits for no one.**

 **Now excuse me as I read up on Laws of Taxation. Ciao, amigos.**


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